


Book One

by a_s_h



Series: S&A [1]
Category: Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
Genre: Cross-country Racing, F/M, Gen, Hiking, Lake District, Mountaineering, Post canon, Sailing, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-20 21:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 228,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1526714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_s_h/pseuds/a_s_h
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Things were about to change. Events would bring all manner of changes that she could never have foreseen. This is how it began.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>This introductory paragraph leads into a novel which covers the years from 1937 to 1941, written in alternate chapters which chronicle Nancy's and Titty's later lives. Set in the North-East of England, Shotley Mill and Cambridge, it also includes scenes of walking and climbing in the Lake District, early air freight transport, and sailing off the East Coast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nancy loses and finds a Job

**Author's Note:**

> Editor's note
> 
> Told in alternating viewpoints - Nancy's and Titty's - this story is one imagining of what could have happened to the _Swallows_ and _Amazons_ as adults. 
> 
> Originally intended to be three books, this story is complete to the end of book one ("What do you want me to call it, Dad? Book One? Okay") and can be read as a stand-alone novel. The author was 72 when book one was finished, so please note that the text does reflect viewpoints typical of the period known to the writer.

Nancy was sitting quietly at her desk in the reception area of the hotel with a look of fierce concentration on her face. Her employer Mr Convoy liked the accounts done correctly and exactly, as he had trained Nancy they should be done. Seven customers had booked out that morning and paid either in cash or cheque and these had to be written up.  
  
She had been at the hotel since leaving school at seventeen, having taken with her Highers nearly a year before. It may not have been the finest job in the world, but it gave her money to pay for her flying lessons, with a little help from her trustees, and she was learning several skills that might be valuable in the future. She enjoyed meeting the guests, and she knew she was good at that; she was determined to be as expert at this role as she had been steering Amazon.  
  
But things were about to change. Events would bring all manner of changes that she could never have foreseen. Had she foreseen those events she would almost certainly have scorned that such events should happen to her. Some she would have marvelled while others she would have scorned. This is how it began.  
  
Suddenly an enormous row broke out somewhere above her, followed by a clatter of heels, and the hotel's chambermaid, Maureen, came down the stairs in tears ignoring Nancy's shout - "What's wrong?"  
  
Maureen fled out of the front door of the hotel. Somewhere upstairs the row continued. Rows between Mr and Mrs Convoy were commonplace, but this exceeded all previous rows. There were a series of bangs from the opening and shutting of drawers, and Mr Convoy came down the stairs carrying luggage - he didn't seem at all upset, more angry. But he said, "Cheerio Nancy," cheerfully enough, and made for the door, slamming it behind him.  
  
Immediately Mrs Convoy came racing downstairs and out of the same door, leaving it open. Through the door Nancy saw Mr Convoy's car engine was already running and Maureen was getting in. Mrs Convoy grabbed the door, but let go when Mr Convoy hit her hand, and she snatched it away. It gave him just time to reverse, change gear and swing into the driveway.  
  
Mrs Convoy returned to the reception, her face puce with anger. She marched up to the reception desk, leant across it aggressively, and yelled, "And as for you, you horrible snivelling rotten little whore, you were bedding him too!"  
  
She made a grab for Nancy's lapels, but Nancy was too quick, grasped Mrs Convoy's extended hands, and threw them off. She stood up, her chair crashing to the floor. Mrs Convoy, baulked, swept everything on the desk to the floor, obviously incandescent with rage she made a second grab for Nancy who again threw her off. Sanity returned, as she realized she was not match physically for Nancy.  
  
"Oh no, I wasn't-" Nancy managed.  
  
"Yes you were, don't lie to me, you rotten adulterous youngster, you can get the bloody hell out of here now!" Mrs Convoy made another grab for Nancy.  
  
Although Nancy managed to dodge, Mrs Convoy then slapped Nancy across the face with the flat of her hand. Nancy started towards her, but Mrs Convoy had the sense to realise she was no match for Nancy's strength, and retreated.  
  
Nancy, angry now, tried again, "But Mrs Convoy I-"  
  
She got no further.  
  
Mrs Convoy shouted at her, "Don't give me any of your lip. You have been bedding him since you got here, you rotten little wanton school girl. Go. Get out now. I'll do my best that you never work round here ever again. Just get out." And she marched back to the door and opened it, clearly indicating Nancy should leave, saying, "Get out now. You go now, without pay, and without a reference. I mean it. I will make sure you don't have another job."  
  
There seemed no point in staying, so Nancy took the hint, and went through the front door just as the first guests were climbing the steps. She walked quickly to her bicycle standing round the corner and rode off down the drive.  
  
And so it was that Nancy left her first job.  
  
She rode home somewhat shakily, wondering just where all this would lead. But her ride was rather slower than usual as she tried unsuccessfully to decide whether she was angry or sad. She wondered whether Mrs Convoy really had the ability to ensure she would never get another job, and decided the woman would probably not.  
  
When Nancy arrived home her mother said, "Nancy. You're home early, that's good."  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
"Nancy, someone's hit you on the face, what's happened?"  
  
"I've lost my job. And I've been accused of sleeping with Mr Convoy."  
  
"Well never mind," said Mrs Beckett. "It wasn't much of a job anyway and I don't know why you had it anyway. Had you slept with him?"  
  
"Mother, no!"  
  
"It doesn't matter then does it? It wasn't much of a job."  
  
"It was a reasonable job," said Nancy,"And it gave me enough to pay for my flying lessons. I enjoyed it, I met lots of interesting people, and I was learning quite a lot while I was there."  
  
"Well, never mind. Go and change, have a wash, and come down here. We'll have a nice cup of tea."  
  
"Mother, I'll come down and have a cup of tea, and then I shall go for a walk and have a think."  
  
"Well, you will take a break won't you?" Her question went unanswered.  
  
Nancy went up to her room and changed, and had a wash. She came downstairs in a shirt and shorts and her old red cap. Going into the kitchen where cook was getting the evening meal, she got tea for herself and her mother, and took it into the lounge.  
  
Her mother looked up at her and said, "You're not really going out for a walk now?"  
  
"When I've had a cup of tea, yes, mother," said Nancy.  
  
"You won't really try and get another job, will you?"  
  
"Yes, I will mother," said Nancy. "Most certainly I will."  
  
"I thought you would spend time with me and come out too, and have dinners with me and Mrs Grove and our other friends."  
  
Nancy said briskly, "I am quite prepared to go out with you to dinner occasionally, but never with Mrs Grove."  
  
"Why don't you take a break? You don't need a job, the trustees will pay an allowance I'm sure."  
  
Nancy got up and said, "Cheerio, Mother, see you later."  
  
She went out through the kitchen and down the garden, into the boat house, and looked at the upturned hull of Amazon. If Peggy had not been at school she'd have seen to it that they turned her over and went for a sail, but she couldn't do it by herself. Instead she went round the house, out through the gate, and up the track to the dog's home. where the D's had stayed when her and Peggy's Great Aunt had come unexpectedly, when her mother and Uncle Jim had gone on a cruise leaving them alone in the house except for Cookie. So the Great Aunt came to stay, and the Ds had had to evacuate.  
  
Walking past the hut, Nancy continued up the little track to the intake wall, by which time to her disgust she was breathing hard. A little path ran along the intake wall and then climbed to a rocky outcrop, where Nancy sat down and thought for a while and planned what to do next. The excitement of the afternoon and her mother's chatter had sobered her. It was a whole three weeks before Peggy would be back from school and that seemed an awful long time. She could have done with Peggy right now to act as a foil, and she had to acknowledge Peggy usually could cope with her mother better than she could. Her mother had been great fun when she was young, but Nancy was aware that she had left her daughters to do what they wished in the holidays. Then a couple of years ago she had been seriously ill and had been cared for by Captain Flint. But her illness, the doctor had told them it was a complication arising from the menopause, had changed Mrs Blackett. She had become involved in some kind of spiritualist movement and had a lot of new friends, none of whom Nancy nor Peggy liked very much, and she had kept asking them to join her while they made excuses not to do so. Then Captain Flint had suddenly gone off to live permanently on the Fram and spend his days writing books.  
  
It was at least an hour or more before Nancy slipped through the kitchen and up the stairs to change into a skirt, and join her mother for dinner. She was no happier, but she had decided what action she would take.  
  
She would channel all her efforts into getting another job, partly so that she could pay for her flying lessons, and partly to keep clear of her mother's new friends. While she was unemployed she would see if Georgy Boy, her instructor, would give her extra lessons other than her normal one on Wednesdays. Flying had become her great passion, and she knew she was good. She considered briefly asking Georgy if he could find her a job but dismissed the idea. Georgy's Girl Friday Rosemary was already there, and she was partly employed as Georgy's assistant and partly as secretary of the flying club and the control centre, while Danny did everything else. The airfield was only a little grass flying strip and the 'control tower', which was itself no more than a sturdy wooden shed with windows facing out over the air field.  
  
After dinner she took her mother's tea and her own coffee into the lounge. Her mother launched into a cheerful description of all the things they would do together, and what a great time they'd have together with her friends. "I spoke to Mrs Grove this afternoon, after you went out, and you can come out with me to dinner at her house tomorrow. And then to one of our little meetings on Tuesday. Then on-"  
  
"Mother, I shall do not such thing. I told you I would not go with you to Mrs Grove's and I won't. I'm going to get myself a job just as soon as I can," said Nancy.  
  
"But there's no need to do that at all," exclaimed her mother.  
  
"Mother, I told you no. I will not go out to dinner with Mrs Grove. Let me make is that absolutely clear."  
  
"But Nancy, she wants you to meet her nephews, they're lovely young men."  
  
"That I'm certainly not doing," said Nancy firmly.  
  
"We'll see," said Mrs Beckett ominously.  
  
They played cards for a while and Nancy let her mother win. Nancy went up to go to bed quite early, but lay awake thinking over the day into the small hours. Mrs Grove, an objectionable busybody, was obviously going to figure in her mother's plans for her. The woman's nephews were a nasty pair who had chased and had been rejected by every eligible girl around. The rest of her mother's friends were in the same mould. It was a problem Nancy had not foreseen when she had been up on the fell.  
  
Nancy was down to breakfast at her usual time, and went out when she had finished to the village shop. Mrs Mullet, whose shop it was, had been very native, but had become more pleasant since Nancy had got a job. She piked up the weekend's local paper and when Nancy asked for a News Chronicle, said, "Would you like me to put one on one side for you, Miss Nancy?"  
  
"Yes, please," said Nancy.  
   
"I hope you won't take offence if I tell you the Telegraph is better for jobs than the Chronicle, but the Telegraph's jobs aren't as interesting. And there are more jobs in the papers towards the end of the week."  
  
"Thank you, Mrs Mullet," said Nancy. "If you could put the Telegraph on one side on Thursdays and Fridays, that would be great."  
  
"I'll do that for you."  
  
It was evident to Nancy that the village grapevine had been at work. She took the papers home, where her mother was just getting up. Unobserved, she noted there was nothing in the Chronicle, but there were two adverts in the local paper. One for a receptionist, and the other as for an assistant in an outdoor shop, both in Ambleside. Nancy sat down and wrote out applications for both and went out to post them. Then, blow it, she met Mrs Grove.  
  
"Well, Miss Nancy. You've lost your job then, been to bed with Mr Convoy, eh. You'll be able to get out with your mother now, eh."  
  
"Yes, no, and no, Mrs Grove," said Nancy firmly.  
  
"Humph, most ungrateful. I'd have thought you'd come out with your mother, she'd like that you know, eh," said Mrs Grove.  
  
"Not yet anyway, Mrs Grove," said Nancy.  
  
She walked on without looking back. Had she done so she would have met Mrs Grove's disapproving stare. Nancy went on home with iron in her soul thinking, 'Not now and not ever'. She was now even more determined than ever not to tie herself to her mother's social rounds. Turning down a coffee, although she was dying for one, she went up stairs and began tidying her room. She turned out her school papers, making two piles, one for 'keeps' and one for 'chucks'. By lunch time she still had some way to go. The 'keeps' pile was mostly geography and mathematics. After lunch she went out for a walk along the lake shore, and when she got back her mother had gone out. She made her own coffee and continued with her task. The rubbish pile grew quite rapidly, and the 'keep' more slowly. About three she stopped, and mugged up on her navigation and landing procedures, before dinner. Her mother had her evening meal at 5pm. But since Nancy had worked at Cragside she had never got home before five thirty and ate an hour or so after that. Having an evening meal at five was a pain.  
  
Her mother had not a great deal to say at dinner, and afterwards Nancy went down to the boat house and had a good look at Amazon and began to make things shipshape. Amazon looked somewhat forlorn, for Nancy's interest in flying had meant that she and Peggy had not sailed her this year. The Beckfoot rowing boat was there, and Nancy knew Timothy Stedding used it sometimes. When she got back her mother was out. Nancy stretched herself out on the settee and read. While she didn't feel as though she'd done much, she was tired and went up to bed before her mother was home.  
  
In the morning she fetched the News Chronicle and searched for adverts for situations vacant, but there was nothing of interest. She finished tidying her school papers, and went on to her clothes, and again turned out all her school uniforms, but kept her hockey stick and her tennis racket. Taking the rubbish down, she shoved it in the dustbin. At dinner, her mother had another go at her about going out with her and her friends, but Nancy turned the conversation away on to something else.  
  
This was awful. Especially when there were no jobs in the News Chronicle again. She was just about to put the newspaper in the wastepaper basket, when the word 'air' caught her attention. There was a small, insignificant, advertisement that read, 'Wanted. A lively person for a small air transport services company' and a Newcastle number. She rushed downstairs, but her mother was on the phone talking to a friend - she was ages. At last she rang off. Nancy was in a ferment to make her call.  
  
Nancy picked up the phone. The operator answered, "What number can I get you, Mrs Blackett?"  
  
Nancy said, "It's Nancy, Mary. Please get me Newcastle 223."  
  
The voice at the other end said, "Of course, Miss Nancy. I'll call you when I've got it."  
  
Mrs Blackett came out of the lounge and went to pick up the phone, but Nancy stopped her. "Mary's getting me a number, Mother."  
  
"That's a pity, " said Mrs Blackett.  
  
The phone rang. "It's Mary. The numbers ringing out."  
  
"Thank you Mary." At least it was Mary, who wouldn't listen in as the other girl would.  
  
"Air Transport Partners. Good morning." It was a man's voice.  
  
"I'm Nancy Blackett. You are advertising for an assistant? I'm interested," said Nancy.  
  
"My word, you're quick off the mark. Yes, we are advertising for someone," said the man at Air Transport Partners.  
  
"I am interested in the job," said Nancy.  
  
"Why?" came the reply.  
  
"Because it involves flying, and as an assistant I thought I could be useful."  
  
"You don't hold a pilots licence, do you?" asked the man.  
  
"Yes I do," said Nancy, "And I'm training for my commercial licence."  
  
"You are, are you. You'd better say a bit more about yourself. What are you doing now?"  
  
"I've been a hotel receptionist," said Nancy.  
  
"So you're now unemployed?"  
  
"Yes, I am," said Nancy.  
  
"What did being a receptionist entail?" The man's voice was quiet but authoritative, slightly accented.  
  
"I answered the phone," said Nancy, "Dealt with customers, kept a record of the bookings, and did the accounts. and I did whatever came along."  
  
"What is whatever came along?" asked the man.  
  
"Anything from rendering first aid and, changing a fuse, to getting the breakfast and making the beds," answered Nancy.  
  
"How does flying fit into that?"  
  
"It doesn't," said Nancy. "I did that in my spare time."  
  
"Where do you live?" asked the man. "Where did you do your training? And who's your trainer?"  
  
"I live on the outskirts of Newby Bridge in Lancashire, I train at Millom and my trainer is Georgy Boy." Nancy bit her lip, she ought to have said George Boyes but it didn't seem to matter.  
  
The voice said, "You weren't allowed to get away with anything then?"  
  
"No, he's strict," said Nancy.  
  
"I can imagine." There was a delay. "Look, we didn't expect a girl. I shall have to consult my partner; we hadn't thought a young woman would apply. Can we ring you back? It won't be until Thursday evening, I'm afraid. Do you mind if I speak to Georgy Boy meantime?"  
  
'Beasts,' thought Nancy, 'Prejudiced beasts.' But she managed to say pleasantly enough, "Yes, of course."  
  
"Your number?"  
  
"Staveley 998."  
  
"Staveley - S_T_A_V_E_L E_Y 998."  
  
That's fine, Cheerio!"  
  
"Good bye," said Nancy, and put the receiver down.  
  
Then Nancy realized she didn't even know who she'd been speaking to. She rushed upstairs and picked up the newspaper but it offered no clues, damn, damn, damn bother, bother, bother. Nonetheless she hugged herself and sat on her bed. Then she leapt up and rushed downstairs, just beating her mother to the phone; she asked Mary to get Georgy. Luckily Mary knew the number, and two minutes later a broad Cumbrian voice answered her, "Rosemary here."  
  
"Rosemary, can I speak to Georgy?" asked Nancy.  
  
"No Nancy, he's up."  
  
Which was code for he had a client and was probably flying.  
  
"Please could you ask him to ring me?" asked Nancy urgently.  
  
"Of course. Shall we see you later?" asked Rosemary.  
  
"Yes, Bye!"  
  
"Bye, Nancy."  
  
And as if all that wasn't enough, her mother embarked on another attempt to get her to give up trying to get a job.  
  
"I was really looking forward to taking you to see my friends, and introducing you to the Circle, and having tea and cakes with them. You could put off looking for a job for six months or so at least. Mrs Grove was telling what nice boys her nephews are, you could go out with them and then perhaps you might never have to get a job. They seem to have plenty of spare time, you could have a lovely time together. Then there's Robin Smith; he's a nice boy and Mrs Roach would like that. They wouldn't want to do the rough things that you and Peggy did with the Walkers. That would be a good thing, it would give you the chance to be more ladylike. You could drop this silly flying business," Mrs Beckett said, in a rush.  
  
"Mother, no," said Nancy.  
  
"That is a pity, it would be lovely. I am sure you'd like Mrs Grove and Mrs Roach, and I'm sure they could arrange it. Shall I ask them?" said Mrs Beckett.  
  
"No, Mother, you will not," said Nancy.  
  
"But I could do it so easily, I am sure you'd like it and it would please me and them so much," said Mrs Beckett.  
  
"No, Mother, I would not. I'd hate it. I do not want to do ladylike things and I'm certainly not giving up flying. Neither am I going to give up trying to get a job as soon as possible," said Nancy.  
   
"But I really do want you and Peggy to join the Circle."  
  
Nancy could have said an awful lot more but she decided against it.  
  
It was with considerable relief she got in her little car, she had purchased it with the help of the trustees of a fund that had begun when the Great Aunt had left them money, and drove off to Millom air club for her lesson. She was a little worried that she hadn't heard from Georgy Boy. When she got there, Georgy wasn't around, but Rosemary assured her he would be back very soon. He was, too.  
  
"Georgy, I've given your-"  
  
 It was as far as she got. Georgy held up his hand, "Afterwards," he said. "The lesson comes first."  
  
It did too. He pushed Nancy even harder than he did usually did. He had her recite to him the cockpit drill even before she got in. He was far more demanding than usual, asking her to complete with three takeoffs and three landings, one at an odd angle to the wind. He made her follow the coast railway line for several miles, and then there were fast turns and slow turns. When they landed, he hadn't finished: there were endless questions about everything from weather to navigation, until Nancy wondered if he was ever going to end. He hadn't given her a grilling like that since the day before her examination for her pilot licence. Even Nancy was tired when they finally got back to the little office at one end of the shed that served as air club base and the centre for Georgy's business. Rosemary was not there, and so it was Georgy who went and got two coffees.  
  
Nancy began again, "Georgy I've-" it was as far as she got, and it was Georgy who completed the story for her.  
  
"Given my name to a young rascal called Mark Hughes, from Geordie land. He wanted to know, for some inexplicable reason, if I had given lessons to some respectable young woman called Nancy Blackett. Well I soon disabused him of that notion, didn't I?" said Georgy. "I told him that I had given lessons to a young harum scarum girl who was known as a piratical terror through out South Lakeland, and had a wicked reputation throughout Westmorland."  
  
"Georgy, you never did," said Nancy. "You beast. What did you say?"  
  
"I've told you. But just get it into your headstrong head that Pete Marsh and young Mark Hughes are all right chaps and that's the truth. Got it?" said Georgy.  
  
"Well thanks. At least I know their names." Nancy got up to go.  
  
But Georgy hadn't finished, "Sit down lass, I've more to say."  
  
"Oh, what?"  
  
"I know full well why you're asking me to speak up for you to those to rascals. I have no intention of spreading it about, but I may as well tell you everyone else knows what's gone on. The gossip lines are full of it, right down to the fact that Mrs Convoy belted you. First of all. Convoy may have had a bit of slap and tickle with Maureen, but that's all. Nobody I know believes he did anything with you, since he was more than likely to get a belt round the chops. The same cannot be said of his missus, who's already installed her toy boy in that hotel. It won't be the same, but her parents are rolling in it and will supply the cash. As for her toy boy, he isn't the first, and I doubt if he'll be the last. Convoy at least has some sense of decency. Oh, and there is, I'm informed on reasonably reliable authority, a letter saying you were asked to leave because there was to be a wholesale reorganisation of responsibilities. Which in a twisted sort of way is true. With said letter will be a letter of reference, and a cheque for two or three weeks pay. Don't ask me how I know all above all this because I won't tell you, okey dokey?" said Georgy.  
  
"My goodness, what do I say if people ask?" asked Nancy.  
  
"What it says in the letter," said Georgy. "That you lost your job because of a wholesale re-organization of responsibilities, just as it will say in the letter I know Mr Convoy will write."  
  
"Well thanks, Georgy. I'm gobsmacked," said Nancy.  
  
Nancy got up to go, but Georgy said, "Sit down girl, I haven't finished yet. I've no idea if you'll get this job over in Geordie land, and on the balance of possibilities I'd say you won't. But give it your best shot, and if you're offered it, grab it. It will be better than getting involved with Mrs Grove and her cronies. I admire you for getting stuck in to get yourself another job and so do others."  
  
"But how do they know?" asked Nancy.  
  
Georgy just tapped his nose at that and went on, "Just keep on trying. If you apply locally, I doubt if you'll have to explain why you're on the job market, but it's easier to get a job with a job, so keep buying the old Chronc if you don't get the Geordie job. My grapevine tells me there may be other jobs of interest in the wake of that one, not as good maybe, but connected with flying."  
  
"Georgy. How can I thank you?"  
  
Georgy looked at Nancy and grinned, and said, "By being a good girl, and keeping your head down, and your nose to the grindstone. Use your brains, you've got plenty, but above all your common sense."  
  
"Thanks, Georgy," said Nancy.  
  
"Cheerio," said Georgy, "And lots of luck in Geordie land. See you next Wednesday."  
  
Nancy left Georgy an awful lot happier. She never did learn what he had said to Mark Hughes. But on Wednesday morning, the postman handed her a thickish envelope. As Georgy had forecast, it contained a letter on hotel notepaper saying she was to leave because of a reorganisation, a sealed envelope to be handed to 'whom it may concern', and cash amounting to about two weeks wages. It was more than she could have reasonably expected, but how on earth did Georgy know?  
  
Time dragged. Thursday morning brought a letter from the outdoor shop turning her down and one from the hotel inviting her to an interview next week. There was nothing that her caught her eye in the Chronicle. She spent the day continuing to tidy her room, and putting some things back in drawers, and there was still a pile of rubbish in the middle of the room. At last it reached 4.30 pm but, bust a jib, her mother was on the phone. Waiting seemed for ever. At last her mother rang off. Very shortly the telephone rang again. Nancy just managed to reach it first, but the caller was another friend of her mother's. Thankfully, Mrs Blackett wasn't so long this time.  
  
The next time the phone rang again Nancy was beside it, and she picked it up. "Good afternoon."  
  
"This is Peter Marsh of Air Transport Partners," said a different man from the one who had answered the phone when Nancy called.  
  
Nancy held her breath. The voice was broad Geordie.  
  
"Is that Nancy Blackett?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy.  
  
"My colleague Mark Hughes spoke to you the day before yesterday. We are interested in your application. Are you still interested?" said Pete Marsh.  
  
"Yes, I am," said Nancy.  
  
"Could you come to Newcastle for an interview?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy, "Certainly I can."  
  
"A train leaves Carlisle at 10.10 tomorrow and Mr Hughes, Mark's father, could meet you at the station and bring you out here. Could you make that?" asked Pete Marsh.  
  
"Yes, I could," said Nancy.  
  
"Mark's father will be at the ticket barrier, and will be carrying a notice with your name on it so there should be no chance of you missing him. You should bring your flying kit with you just in case, and an overnight bag. There are other interviewees obviously. Have you got that?"  
  
"Yes, thank you," said Nancy.  
  
"Good," said Pete Marsh. "See you tomorrow. Cheers."  
  
Before she could say good bye the phone went dead. Nancy let out a long breath and hugged herself.  
  
Her mother called from the dinning room, "Dinner's ready, Nancy."  
  
Once she had sat down, Nancy told her mother, "Mother, I am going for an interview in Newcastle tomorrow."  
  
"Oh, Nancy," said Mrs Blackett. "I thought you'd been a sensible girl, and given all this silly job business up. I told you I'd like you to go out with me. Besides, I thought you would be joining the Circle like Mrs Grove's nephew. He would like to take you out."  
  
"But Mother," said Nancy, "I told you I was going to get a job and I jolly well am. I have no intention of having any thing to do with either Mrs Grove or her nephews or your Circle - I will not do it. Is that quite clear?"  
  
"But if you joined the Circle it would do you a lot of good, it would be very good for you, it is so spiritual, and you would grow up into a young lady. But if you were to take a silly job or even go across to Newcastle for a job you couldn't join. Nancy, you wouldn't go and live over there just for a job, would you?" asked her mother.  
  
"Yes, Mother," said Nancy, "I would."  
  
"But if you did that you would have no chance to join the Circle. I don't want you mixed up with rough people like those Walker children ever again," said Mrs Blackett. "That might have been all right when you were younger but not now."  
  
"Mother!" said Nancy, "That's a horrible thing to say. What, or who, gave you that idea the Walkers are rough? They're very nice."  
  
"Mrs Grove said they had a war with you, and did sail racing, and they took your Uncle Jim's book," said Mrs Blackett.  
  
"What's wrong with racing our dinghies?" asked Nancy indignantly. "And the war was my idea, and those men from Bigland took Uncle Jim's book."  
  
"Ah, but the Walkers knew where to find it, didn't they? And only rough people do sail racing and I don't want you to have anything more with them," her mother said triumphantly. "Mrs Grove knows all about what rough children they were. Then you went off to the south of England, doing goodness knows what with them."  
  
Nancy thought that was a bit rich considering it had been arranged with her mother but changed the subject, and as soon as possible went up stairs to get ready for tomorrow. She had been there a little while there was a knock on the door. It was Cookie.  
  
"So, you're off to Newcastle in the morning. I'll leave you breakfast and some sandwiches for the journey. You'll be gone before I get here in the morning. If I may say so, Miss Nancy," said Cookie, "I think you're sensible."  
  
"Thank you, Cookie," said Nancy, "You're a dear."  
  
Nancy went on putting things together. She sat on the bed: suddenly the idea of going to live in Newcastle was an awful lot more attractive. What had got into her mother to suddenly get stuck into the Swallows? Formerly her mother had rather liked them, and why ever not? The Walkers were far less wild that she had been. Mrs Grove was living up to her reputation for being a busy body, but this was going much further than she had gone before. But Mrs Grove's nephews had a far from savoury reputation.  
  
Mulling it over Nancy realised she and her mother had been on separate courses since Mrs Beckett had been involved with Mrs Grove's spiritualist Circle affair. Just why her mother had taken a sudden and unaccountable dislike to the Swallows was beyond her. What on earth was there to object to? Jibooms and Bobstay, they were much better behaved than she and Peggy. Susan could be almost native when she put her mind to it. And John was both shy, and always concerned about pleasing his mother. Mrs Walker was very nice, but she was quite strict with them. A lot stricter than her mother ever was. You behaved yourself when you were with Mrs Walker. But she was fun too and could row like smoke and handle a sailing boat better than any of her children. The Swallows were expected to be responsible, but they were allowed to do adventurous things. Commander Walker was equally strict but his children, especially Titty, obviously adored him.  
  
In the morning Nancy was still preoccupied when she drove out of the Beckfoot gates on course for the Carlisle train station. She had made herself coffee, and cooked the toast Cookie had left ready. On top of the sandwiches Cookie had left for her was a folded piece of paper with corner stuck down, and when Nancy opened it, it had a simple message, 'Good luck'. Nancy had left before her mother was awake. She drove to Carlisle and caught the train with time to spare.  
  
The train slowed as it crossed the Tyne bridge and entered Newcastle station. Nancy picked up her battered rucksack. Should she have asked Cookie if she knew where one of Captain Flint's suitcases were? It was too late now, and soon Nancy was hurrying down the platform. As she approached the barrier, a tall white haired man was stepping up to it with a notice that showed her name, 'Nancy Blackett' on it. But there was no need to wave, he was already walking towards her, a tall handsome man with a bush of white hair, with an air of authority and confidence about him. He had a broad welcoming smile. A large hand was stretched forward, and he said as he enclosed her small hand in a firm handshake, "Nancy Blackett, no doubt."  
  
"Yes," said Nancy, and for once an element of self doubt was just evident.  
  
"David Hughes," he said. "I must get you across to those lads in their shed as soon as possible ."  
  
Nancy followed him out of the station to where a smart Austin was parked. He opened the door for her, taking her rucksack and slinging it on the back seat.  
  
Once in the driver's seat he asked, "Did you have a good journey? I hope they you didn't get you up too early?"  
  
"No, it was fine," said Nancy.  
  
"Did your employer let you off for the day, or you free at the moment?"  
  
"I am free at the moment," said Nancy. "The hotel where I work is having a re-organisation, and I was surplus."  
  
"Oh. that's why, it happens," he said dryly.  
  
Nancy felt that was not quite adequate and added, "The husband and wife who own it fell out."  
  
"Oh, did they," said Mr Hughes. "So that left you out in the cold. Had you worked there long?"  
  
"Since I left school. A year or so ago," said Nancy.  
  
David Hughes was, Nancy was aware, pumping her fairly hard but she could do nothing about it. It was better to answer honestly, for she had nothing to hide. Besides, she had the feeling that he might check if she said the same thing to his son later. He didn't give the impression he was easily fooled.  
  
"So you live in the southern Lakes," said Mr Hughes. "I don't know the area as well as the northern part. I've always had the impression that Dunmail Rise and Kirkstone provide a sort of barrier."  
  
"Oh they do," said Nancy. "I've only been to the northern Lakes a few times."  
  
"Here we are," said Mr Hughes, turning into through an insignificant gap in the hedge and drawing to a halt in front of a rather unsmart shed. There was a notice on the roof, 'Air transport Services - Partners'. Parked against the hedge were two ordinary looking Fords, and next to them a MG sports car. Mr Hughes got out and came and helped Nancy out with an old world courtesy. He went to the office door and held it open for her. Nancy followed him into a small room with a desk, behind which was a chair, with another chair in front of it. The room and the desk were untidy, with papers strewn across the desk and on the shelf behind. It was all very different from the Cragside Hotel. The window behind the desk looked out over the airfield, just to the left, on which she could see two yellow Gypsy Moths. There was a small low table with magazines about flying and cars on it.  
  
"This is the dump," Mr Hughes said. "Can I get you a drink and a sandwich, you must be famished?"  
  
"Yes, please," said Nancy.  
  
He indicated she should sit down on the chair and went on, "Will cheese or ham suit?"  
  
"Cheese will do fine," Nancy heard herself say.  
  
He disappeared in to a small room that appeared to contain flying gear. "There's a loo in here," he said through the door.  
  
Nancy was relieved. The loo was clean, as was the wash basin, and she made use of both and felt considerably better.  
  
Opposite her chair was a corridor, and then a door, and she could hear the murmur of conversation. Mr Hughes busied himself for a while and then came out with a small tea tray on which there was a coffee and a plate of sandwiches. "I must be going," he said, and left her.  
  
The coffee was good and strong, and the cheese sandwiches had a good flavour and were generously sized. Nancy realized she was very hungry, and bit into them. After what seemed a long time, the office door opened, and two men exited. The older man showed the other out, and came back.  
  
"We'll see you in a minute," he said to Nancy, and went back though the door, closing it behind him.  
  
Again it seemed an age before he returned, but he did eventually. Nancy followed him into the room, which was larger and lighter. There were two desks facing the door, and a small swarthy man was sitting at one of them. He got up when Nancy came in, and extended a hand across the desk, shaking Nancy's with a firm grip. His brown eyes appraised her, and he looked altogether more formidable than his colleague.  
  
"Please sit down," he said. "Did you have a good journey?, Was the train on time?"  
  
"Yes, thank you," Nancy said.  
  
"Well, we got that right," he said with a grin.  
  
Nancy realized he felt they didn't always. It was an encouraging start.,  
  
"My name's Peter Marsh," he said, "And this is Mark Hughes. To make matters clear, we codged this partnership together because we love flying. It seemed to us we could fly and have a business at the same time. We carry bits and pieces and people all over the place, and do what we want, which is fly. The affair is busier than we envisaged, and we need someone to run the office. Paperwork isn't exactly something we're good at. We need someone who is prepared to put up with us, and do the paper work, which means keep the money straight and that sort of thing. And speak to customers about the goods they want moved about, or people. Oh, and you need to be clear that you'll spend most of the time by yourself. Any questions?"  
  
"No," said Nancy, who was a little bewildered at this rapid fire description.  
   
"Well. We need to know a bit about you, so we'll ask a few questions if we may?"  
  
"Yes, that's fine," said Nancy.  
  
A few questions seemed something of an underestimate. They asked lots of questions about what she'd done at school, and what she'd liked and disliked, and what sports she had done and even who the prime minister was. Nancy was thankful that she had read more than the adverts and was able to say, Ramsey MacDonald., They seemed interested in the fact she had captained school teams. Then they got on to what she had done at the Cragside Hotel, and how it had gone wrong. They seemed especially interested in how she had kept accounts and whether she had worked alone. It was a friendly interview, and there were a few laughs on the way, but Nancy felt as though they'd turned her inside out. By the end of the questions there wasn't much they didn't know. Then they asked about why she wanted to fly, and Nancy found herself telling them how she had watched a stunt flyer going up the Langdale Valley and resolved there and then to learn to fly.  
  
The only question she asked was, "How will I know I'm doing right?"  
  
To which Pete had said, "We'll tell you, but I think you'll know soon enough."  
  
Suddenly Pete said, "Do you want this job?"  
  
There was only one answer to that which was of course, "Yes, please ."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because your business involves flying," said Nancy, "And I'm interested in everything to do with flying. And I need a job that's interesting."  
  
"We'll pay you a £120 a year, which should give you enough to live on."  
  
It was a lot more than Nancy had been paid at the Cragside Hotel, but she felt a bit of a fool, because she really had no idea how much she would need to live away from home.  
  
Pete went on somewhat abruptly, "Right. Now we want to see you fly. Mark'll take you up in his Moth, and we'll see what sort of job master Georgy Boys has done on you."  
  
That is what happened. Nancy changed into her flying gear in the untidy back room. Mark and Pete took her out to the planes. Nancy got into to the pilot's cockpit, Mark into passenger seat, and he watched while she went through the cockpit drill. Once it was clear she knew what she was doing, Mark let her start the engine. Once started, it was evident the Moth was in good condition, and Mark cleared her with the Control for take off.  
  
"Follow the Tyne to the coast, turn north and follow the coast road," he said.  
  
Nancy did as she was told, and after a few miles Mark shouted to turn out over the sea, where after a mile or so he had her fly in a box, and then back along the coast road to the airport. There he cleared her for landing, but after a trouble free flight Nancy made a mistake and landed with a bump.  
  
"Taxi back to the shed," Mark shouted.  
  
Nancy did, kicking herself. How could she have been such a fool to have messed it up a landing like that? She had wrecked the chance of a lifetime. She knew she looked miserable but she could do nothing about it. To do so just made her angrier with herself.  
  
Mark came and helped her out of the cockpit. "Why are you so downhearted?" he asked, giving her his own hanky. "Because of that bump?"  
  
"What else?" Nancy said. "Georgy would have crucified me for that."  
  
"I'm glad I haven't been crucified for every landing I've done as bad as that one. And I've done far worse." Mark must have seen it was no consolation whatsoever. "Look," he said, "We got you up at God knows what hour, dragged you half across the country and cross examined you. Then tipped you into an aircraft you've never flown before, on an airfield you've hardly seen, and made you fly in a neck of the woods you don't know. And you're blaming yourself for that? Have a care." He paused, and then said, "By the way, we'll let you know about the job on Sunday afternoon. The reason we wanted to see how you flew was because, if we're busy, once you've got your commercial licence, you might help us out now and then. If you come here."  
  
They went back to the shed, where a smartly dressed chap was sitting in one of the spare chairs. Once she was sat down, Mark brought Nancy a cup of coffee and a bun. "I'll fetch Dad, and you should just get catch the train," he said.  
  
When he came back, he gave her an envelope and disappeared down the short corridor. Mr Hughes came in on his heels. "If we hurry, you'll just get the 4.15," he said.  
  
Nancy gathered up her things and followed him out to the big Austin. Mr Hughes looked at a Morgan sports car parked opposite and commented, "Flash cars some of these young chaps have. Hop in, we'll only just make it. Off we go."  
  
He drove quite fast, and just before they reached the busy centre of town he said, "If they offer you the job, just bear in mind they've got the office in a right mess. They're flyers. They've no notion how to run an office,. It will be no sinecure."  
  
"All right," said Nancy, "But I'd just love the job all the same."  
  
Privately she thought, 'Much chance of that, after messing up the landing.' Her interview might pass muster with Pete, but when Mark mentioned her flying it would be a different story.  
  
Mr Hughes drove as near the platform as he could and said, "Hop out. Cheerio, good luck."  
  
Nancy only just made it to the train . It was to her surprise nearly empty. and she found a corner seat. Suddenly she was very tired and hungry. She wanted that job desperately. Why did she have to make such a mess of the landing?  
  
The countryside passed by without her seeing it, and she finally ate Cookie's sandwiches. There was something reassuring about their familiarity. Suddenly, she thought of the envelope Pete had given her as she had stuffed her gear into the rucksack. She dug it out. and opened it, and inside there were three crisp pound notes inside. It was a more than generous allowance for expenses.  
  
Eventually the train drew into Carlisle, where Nancy got out and went to the telephone box, found her two pence and rang her mother. "I'm just at Carlisle, Mother. I shall be late home."  
  
"I'm out to whist tonight," Mrs Blackett said. "I hoped you be home in time to go with me. You didn't get that job I hope?"  
  
"I'll see you later," said Nancy.  
  
"I shan't wait about for you. It's time I was gone, good bye."  
  
Nancy put the phone back in the cradle and looked at it. Someone knocked on the kiosk door, so she gathered up her stuff and went out.  
  
She suddenly decided she'd have a coffee and a sandwich. Once she had done so, she felt better, and then drove home. The road along the east side of the lake had never seemed longer, and she was very tired when she finally turned in the Beckfoot gate. She let herself in and took her stuff up to her room and dumped it. The she went back downstairs into the kitchen to get a drink. There was a ham salad on the kitchen table, and a note on top, 'Hope you did good.' Good old Cookie. Her attitude was certainly different from Nancy's mother's.  
  
Although Nancy put a record on the record player, she was soon nodding. She took it off, put it away, and having left a note for her mother went upstairs and went to bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.  
  
When Nancy woke in the morning, the sun was streaming through her bedroom window, and she could hear her mother moving about in the lower part of the house. Then it came flooding back to her, how she had mucked up what had been a chance of a lifetime. She turned her head into the pillow and moaned. She couldn't remember feeling so furious with herself since she had let John Walker slip over the shallows and beat her to the Beckfoot boathouse. Nancy leapt out of bed and washed herself vigorously to rub the misery away, and went down to a meagre breakfast. She would only be just in time for her flying lesson. Georgy's other clients didn't like starting early, so she had the first spot Saturday mornings when her hotel duties had allowed her to do.  
  
The lesson went gallingly well, and to make things worse Nancy did three picture perfect landings. It made her even more furious with herself.  
  
Georgy Boy seemed to know she was out of sorts. Nancy wore her feelings on her sleeve, so it was not difficult. He sat her down in his little office and brought her a cup of coffee. Then he asked, "How did it go?"  
  
"They took me flying, and I messed up the landing, I was awful," said Nancy.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I landed too fast, and with a bump," said Nancy.  
  
"Which is why you're so grumpy with yourself this morning?"  
  
"Right. Why, oh why did I have to mess it up?" said Nancy.  
  
"Because you were uptight, young miss," said Georgy. "What about the rest of it?"  
  
"They examined me like nothing on earth, you'd think I was applying for the job as captain of a windjammer in the tea trade."  
   
"Nancy, do you want this job?" asked Georgy.  
  
"Like nothing else, and I've messed it up. I won't get it now will I? Really, I want it so badly, and I'm so furious with myself. How could I be such a fool?" said Nancy.  
  
"Why do you want this job so badly?" asked Georgy.  
  
"Why?" said Nancy. "Because it involves flying. Besides, how exciting to work for two chaps who fly, and leave me responsible for the office. And to help set up their company from the start. It's exciting." But by this time she was nearly in tears.  
  
"Damned hard work," commented Georgy.  
  
"I wouldn't mind that," said Nancy.  
  
"What does your mother say about it all?"  
  
"All Mother does is go on about not getting a job," said Nancy, "And going out with her to those little dinner parties, and joining that Circle thing they have. They want me to go out with Mrs Grove's wretched nephews ."  
  
"Who, Phillip and George?"  
  
"Who else," said Nancy.  
  
"Whatever you do, Nancy," said Georgy, "Promise me you'll never go out with either of them."  
  
"I won't," said Nancy, surprised. "Georgy, honest I won't."  
  
It was time to go. Nancy got in her car and drove off, angrily. It made her feel worse - how un-Amazon pirate like was that. Pulling herself together, she stopped off in the village to pick up yesterday's Chronicle and Telegraph and the local paper. By the time she had reached home and scanned them for jobs, it was time to go down for lunch.  
  
Almost immediately her mother asked her how she got on.  
  
"Badly," Nancy said.  
  
"That's good," said her mother. "Why aren't you a sensible girl? Give up this silly idea of getting a job, and come out with me. You wouldn't go and work over in Newcastle, would you? And you are going to come out with me tonight, we're having a cosy little dinner at Mrs Grove's. You're invited, and I've told her you'll come with me."  
  
"Mother," said Nancy, "I would go to Newcastle and work there if they offered me this job. And I'm certainly not coming to Mrs Grove's tonight, you've no business accepting an invitation for me without asking me first. That's flat."  
  
"You don't really mean that," said Mrs Beckett. "Do I have to ring Mrs Grove and tell her you won't come?"  
  
"Yes, because you won't accept or make up your mind to the fact I am going to get a job just as soon as I can. If I was offered this job I would accept it and go and live over there," said Nancy firmly.  
  
"Oh dear," said Mrs Beckett. "Well, I hope they don't offer it to you, then perhaps you'll change your mind. When are they going to let you know, or have they turned you down already?"  
  
"They're going to phone me Sunday afternoon," said Nancy.  
  
"If they were a respectable firm, they'd be writing you a proper letter." Mrs Beckett huffed. "Anyway I shall be out Sunday afternoon. I thought you'd come to church with me and then come out and play cards at Mrs Roach's. I suppose you won't do that."  
  
"No, and this afternoon I'm going for a walk up the fell," said Nancy.  
  
"H'm, I wish you'd start behaving properly," said Mrs Beckett. "You're getting very headstrong."  
  
Thankfully the meal was over. Nancy went to her bedroom and changed into her shorts and jersey, and went out up on to the fells behind the house. She was thankful to be away from it all. Her mother had made no arrangements for an evening meal and she'd have to get her own. It was windy and raining off and on. but Nancy didn't care. She felt better. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a small chance she'd get the job after all. There was nothing in the advertisement about flying, but then the other applicants were those smart looking young men with their sports cars, they would surely be preferable to her.  
  
She didn't get back home till late and then got her dinner from what she could find in the kitchen, since her mother had made no arrangements for an evening meal. Afterwards she rang the Staveley exchange just to make sure that the Hughes company had not phoned her today instead, but they hadn't.  
  
Feeling a little flat, Nancy went up to her room and sat idly at her desk. Then it came to her that she ought to write to Peggy. She got out her writing pad and wrote, telling Peggy about the fracas at the hotel, and the search for a job and her mother's attitude. In a couple of weeks Peggy herself would come back from school for the last time. Generally, Peggy got on with their mother better than Nancy did; she had more patience. But Nancy knew that Peggy was determined to go and work for an insurance company in Ambleside. She had worked there last summer for a fortnight, and for a week at Easter. It did not seem to Nancy to be very adventurous, or the sort of thing an Amazon pirate ought to do. But then neither was being a hotel receptionist. Peggy, though, had no desire to learn to fly, and did not have to worry about lesson times.  
  
Breakfast in the morning brought another suggestion from her mother "Are you sure you're not coming out with me today? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I phoned up now."  
  
"No, Mother," said Nancy. "I'm not coming."  
  
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you weren't here when they phoned, and anyway you don't want the job."  
  
"I do want the job, Mother," said Nancy. "I want it lots."  
  
"Silly girl. You could have a lovely time here. You don't want to go over there and work with all those Geordies now, do you?" said Mrs Blackett.  
  
"Yes, I do," said Nancy.  
  
There really was no more to be said and they relapsed into a chilly silence. Mrs Beckett soon went out.  
  
Hungry, Nancy wandered into the kitchen. There was no sign of any meal and Cookie did not come in on Sundays, so she would have to get her own. She found some cold meat in the kitchen and boiled some potatoes and carrots, which she ate without any enthusiasm.  
  
Waiting for the telephone to ring, she had left her letter to Peggy unfinished so she could add a piece if she did get the job. She decided to fill in the waiting time by writing to Titty. They had arranged that Titty would come and stay when Nancy was to have a holiday, but after Mrs Blackett's rudeness about the Swallows, it did not seem as if Titty would be made very welcome. But the morning dragged by, and Nancy's mind was not on the letter. The phone rang at twelve and Nancy answered, but it was a wrong number. Nancy slammed the receiver down. Time inched past. Two o'clock came, and then three, and still there was no call. This was awful. Just after four the phone rang again, but it was one of her mother's friends who kept Nancy talking, until Nancy had to be almost rude to shut her up. The phone rang again but nobody was there. This was terrible.  
  
It was almost five when the phone rang again, Nancy was in a state, and nearly snapped her answer into the receiver, but just in time she managed to say, "Nancy Blackett speaking, good afternoon."  
  
There was a warm and wicked chuckle at the other end, and a Geordie voice said, "Do you normally answer your home phone that formally on a Sunday afternoon, Nancy?"  
  
"No," she said.  
  
"What if you had a job that required you to answer "Air Transport Services?" said Pete.  
  
Nancy recovered herself, "Do you mean what I think you mean?"  
  
"I certainly do," said Pete.  
  
"I'd be over the moon. I can't believe it!"  
  
"When could you start?" said Pete.  
  
"Tomorrow," said Nancy, still a little shaky.  
  
"Make it Tuesday," said Pete. "Mr Hughes'll meet you off the 12.15 out of Carlisle, that will give us time to sort out where you can stay. You sound surprised. Are you?"  
  
"Yes, I am," said Nancy. "Very surprised."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I messed up the landing, and with all those smart young men. I felt I had no chance," said Nancy.  
  
"Them." The Geordie accent was more pronounced. "I dismissed them as useless. They'd never stick at the job. We need someone who understands accounts, and will clear up the mess we've left, which is appalling. Nor could they fly a kite for all the tea in china. Lass, we're leaving you an awful mess." Pete paused, and Nancy suspected both of them were thinking of the untidy piles of paperwork in the office. And could you bring a list of things a well run office should have?" he finished.  
  
"Yes, I'd love to do that," said Nancy.  
  
"Mr Hughes will pick you up," Pete said. "Mark will give you an outline of what needs doing, and then we'll both be in and out till Friday. Then we'll sit down and see what needs to be done." There's a farm not too far from the Shed where Mrs Ackroyd will look after you to start with. Mr Hughes knows the Ackroyds well. See you Wednesday. Cheers, lass."  
  
Once again, the phone went dead before she had a chance to say good bye. Nancy put the receiver down and stared at it in total disbelief. No one was at home to see her dance round the phone, hugging herself with the sheer joy of having made it. She had to go out and walked up to the intake wall: running back burnt enough nervous energy to think about what was left to do before she could leave. Upstairs, she completed her letters to Peggy and Titty, with a note to say she had got the job. She made herself a thick bacon and egg sandwich, and sat to eat it with a piece of paper beside her and a pencil in one hand, and began the list. On the off chance she rang Georgy Boy. He was there! She gave him the news.  
  
"Damn," he said, "Off goes my best pupil. Can you come in tomorrow, first thing?"  
  
"Yes, Georgy what did you say to them?" asked Nancy.  
  
"That, miss, I shall never tell you, no matter how many times you ask."  
  
She was there at eight am, and he took her up and gave her another demanding lesson in which she had to practice everything he had ever taught her. Finally they landed. Georgy Boy took Nancy to the office and they had two mugs of coffee, one with sugar and one without. As she suspected, he had something to say.  
  
"You'll do," he said, "I hope they give you the chance to get your commercial licence very soon. But now you've got this job, don't get a big head. It would be all to easy to. You must keep your feet very firmly on the deck, not just now but for always. Whatever you do, don't get carried away by the glamour of it. It's a job, it's a business and needs common sense. You have that sense so long as you don't let the adrenalin get you. Beware of us men. I don't want ever to hear you've gone off the rails." He paused, listening to a car pull up outside. "I must go. My next client has arrived."  
  
"No, Georgy," Nancy said. "I won't. Thanks for everything."  
  
She drove home with just that resolve, but was home just in time to have lunch with her mother.  
  
Mrs Beckett was not pleased.  
  



	2. Titty - the Exams End

"You will put your pens down, now," the invigilating teacher said, "Now."   
  
One girl had still been writing; she was crying.  
  
Titty sat with her pen in front of her. She stretched her fingers one by one, and then her hand.   
  
"Gather your papers together, put the tie through the hole in the top left hand corner, and be ready to hand them in," said the teacher.   
  
Dreamily, Titty did as she was told. When she looked up, Mrs Morrow was waiting with eight sets of exam papers in her hand. As usual, Titty had taken longer than the other girls. Nonetheless, Mrs Morrow smiled at her.  
  
"All over for a bit, Titty."  
  
"Yes," said Titty. It felt as though she had spent the last six months writing examination paper after paper. There had been the Cambridge entrance exams, with the horrid interview at the end of it when she had felt so inadequate and stupid. Now, there had been matric: she could hardly remember how many there had been.   
  
The other girls were crowding out of the door chattering.  
  
"Quiet girls, lessons haven't finished yet," said Mrs Brownlee. The chattering ceased.  
  
Titty followed them, feeling despondent. All that she might have written was now flooding into her head. If only she had remembered even some of that, she could have done better, she thought sadly.   
  
Mrs Morrow and Mrs Brownlee watched the girls leave. As last out, Titty closed the door behind her, and wandered away into the main school building. The girls ahead of her were all taller and older than she was. They were having a party tonight to celebrate the end of the exams, but since it was to be in school, it wasn't to be much of a party. Titty wasn't part of their set and she had not been invited, not that she minded too much.   
  
Meanwhile in the classroom Mrs Morrow was saying, "There goes Angelique. Full of self confidence, believing she's done wonderfully well. And Titty, who can only think of all the things she hasn't done."  
  
"I worry about that girl," said Mrs Brownlee., "She is, I should think, almost bound to go up to Cambridge. But she's so dreamy and lacking in confidence I cannot for the life of me see how she'll cope. She's so small and shy."  
  
"I wouldn't worry yourself. She'll do what she always does, put her head down and get on with it," answered Mrs Morrow.  
  
"That's all very well, but she won't have so much support there. She'll dream her way along and get lost on the way. She'll be there without supervision. I cannot see how she'll manage."  
  
"Very well, I wouldn't be surprised," said Mrs Morrow. "Titty's used to doing things on her own, and of all the girls she is the most self sufficient loner. Look at the way she runs cross country races all by herself away out in front, ignoring everyone else, quiet, well organised and fast."  
  
"Yes, I was forgetting that," said Mrs Brownlee.  
  
"I had to take them to the inter schools race," said Mrs Morrow. "Pickle said she couldn't make it for some reason, couldn't or wouldn't. Titty won in her usual style, way out in front with a mile to go, and with that strange absorbed expression on her face. There was a sports mistress watching who said, 'Going up to university, I suppose?' 'Yes,' I said, and she said 'She'll be the pick of the bunch for the men, she'll be a beauty - and ignore them all.'"  
  
"I suppose so," said Mrs Brownlee. "Then there's her family, always there in support. She is much shyer than Susan ever was."  
  
"Titty has about twice the application and drive, seems not to worry, gets her head down and gets on with it," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
"I took a peek at her German paper," said Mrs Brownlee, "And it was almost faultless. Cambridge will want her."  
  
Meanwhile, Titty made her way slowly upstairs, to her tiny room high in the eaves of the school building. It had been chosen for her when she joined the sixth form two years ago, because she didn't mind being alone, and would work unsupervised. Back in her room, she flung herself onto the bed, picked up a novel and began to read, but was soon asleep. The next thing she knew was the summer sun was still pouring through the window. When she looked at the clock that hung on the wall, she felt as if she was still dreaming. Suddenly it dawned on her she would miss dinner altogether if she didn't go down. As it was she had already missed the first course, and it was only because of the fact that the dining room staff made allowances for her that she would get her main course. Titty hurried down stairs to the school dining room knowing that if she was honest, she traded on the fact that she was liked.   
  
There she met her friend Jemma who was already eating her sweet. She looked up at Titty holding her tray and said gently, "I don't know how you do it! Any other girl arriving at this time would get no dinner. But you, you swan in here well past the time limit and are still given a dinner. They spoil you!"  
  
Titty looked shamefaced and said, "I know it's wicked, I fell asleep. I did not mean to, honest."   
  
Jemma smiled, "The only person who is likely to object is Mrs Pickles. Everyone else just accepts it's the way you are."  
  
Titty almost whispered, "I know it's wicked. I don't mean to be selfish."  
  
The room was full of chatter.   
  
Jemma said kindly, "We were all late, but senior girls are allowed a little latitude once they had completed their exams."   
  
Mrs Morrow was duty mistress that evening, responsible for messages and announcements. She was handed a small piece of buff paper by a junior who said something to her, and Mrs Morrow nodded. She spoke to some girls who were being rather noisy and then made her way to the table where Titty and Jemma were sitting. She put the paper in front of Titty. It read, 'Got a 24 hour pass see us at 1400 tomorrow. Night out assured. Daddy.'   
  
Mrs Morrow smiled down at Titty and said, "That's made your day, hasn't it?"   
  
Titty brushed a lock of hair away from her face and looked up. "Yes. It has, Mrs Morrow."  
  
"Mrs Mountheard has approved your night out," smiled Mrs Morrow.  
  
Titty beamed, "Oh thank you."  
  
"By the way, we're having a short run after breakfast, tomorrow. Are you coming?"  
   
"Yes, please," said Titty.  
  
"See us outside the gym at 9.30. But I shan't wait for you," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
"I'll be there."   
  
Titty returned her china and cutlery to the hatch, and went away, thankful the day was over. Mrs Morrow was not the sports mistress, but had been a competitive athlete when younger, and on Saturday mornings took a small group of girls running through the woods and fields. Mrs Morrow's 'short' was relative by most people's standards, but Titty loved running longer distances. Because of her exams, Titty hadn't been for four weeks. She was pleased to be running again, although she had not gone far before she realised how rusty she was.  
  
By the time she'd washed the mud off it was time for lunch, and then she packed for the evening. At one thirty, she was sitting on the low wall just inside the school gate with a small bag - her family might be early. Just before two, a small maroon Austin she recognised came up the drive. It stopped, and Mrs Walker got out and kissed her small daughter, and then stood back as Titty hugged her father and kissed Bridget, now almost as tall as herself. Roger bent, and kissed his sister affectionately. Titty's relationship with both her brothers was very good, and they were indulgent. Roger now towered over her, and was hardly the ship's boy anymore. He had filled out and become more muscular, and he had been made captain of the school 2nd fifteen. It had matured him.   
  
"Come on, you lot," said Mrs Walker indulgently, "We're going to walk down the stream, and then on to the Mill. Then on to Mrs Lamb's."  
  
Titty and her mother exchanged smiles. Commander Walker was known to be very partial to the scones at the little café on the top floor of the Mill.   
  
In the soft sunshine of the early summer, the stream murmured away to itself as it wound its way through the trees of the woodland. It was a haven for small birds and wild flowers. If you were quiet, and lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a red squirrel or a stoat. So the family wandered along the pathway by the stream. Commander Walker was unlikely to miss anything, but it was Mary Walker who knew the names of the wildflowers far better than he did.   
  
To the Commander's delight they saw a kingfisher and a red squirrel before they went on to the little café. They had been going there since Susan had started at the school six years earlier, and this might be the last visit they made as a family. Bridget would not follow her sisters to the same school since, to her delight, she had been accepted by a music school academy. Roger, Titty learned, had with the help of a master acquired a broken down Morris 8 he intended to rebuild, and, with two friends, hoped to race it. He was getting more mature by the day it seemed.   
  
But there was bad news, for in September her father would follow his elder son John to a posting in the China Seas. Once again, Titty thought, the Admiralty had managed to disrupt her family. She told them glumly that she didn't think she had done well in the her exams, there were loads of things that she should have done and not done. Her family did not take a great deal of notice. Titty always said she had done poorly.   
  
Her father asked, "Did you do your best?"  
  
"Yes," said Titty. "I suppose so. But I should have revised harder than I did, and then maybe I wouldn't be feeling I'd made so many mistakes."  
  
"So hard that you would have left yourself no energy to do the exams. You did your best. That is all the school, and we, can ask, or you can ask of yourself."   
  
Titty's mother regarded her covertly, and noted the pallor and the shadows under her daughter's eyes. As usual, Titty had driven herself to the edge, and was now counting the cost for having put in so much effort.  
  
"Have you been doing any running?" Mrs Walker asked.   
  
Titty brightened, "I went for a run this morning."   
  
Mrs Walker guessed correctly that it was the first time she had done so for sometime.  
  
They passed through the old mill buildings, and climbed the somewhat worn and rickety stairway to the café, where the windows on all four sides looked out over the surrounding countryside. On this pleasant summer day they were open, and the birds were calling to one another. There, the kindly waitress took their order, although she hardly needed to: Mrs Walker and her daughters had cake, Roger a bacon butty and Commander Walker a cheese scone and butter. The waitress had taken similar orders from the family quite often.  
  
Titty wanted to hear the latest about Roger's car, and Bridget's exploits with the violin. Bridget told her that she had given a solo performance at an assembly, and been invited to join a junior orchestra. Roger was more sceptical of his own efforts, claiming he had only taken the car to bits and had been helped by the master to determine which bits were too worn to be of use. Titty told her family that Nancy had a new job with a firm called Air Transport Services, who worked out of a shed in a remote corner of Newcastle Airport, near the flying club. Her father made of note of the company on a piece of paper. Titty wondered why.  
   
"The shed doesn't make it sound as though it's a very big company," Commander Walker said doubtfully.  
  
"I don't think it is. It sounds as though it's just two partners and Nancy," Titty told him.  
  
"Hm, interesting," he said, "What does Mrs Blackett think of that?"  
  
"Nancy doesn't say."  
  
"Weren't you going up to Lancashire to do some rock climbing with her?" asked Mrs Walker.  
  
"Yes, I was," said Titty, "But she doesn't say anything about that."  
  
It was time to go to Mrs Lamb's, where her parents, or sometimes her mother alone, stayed when they visited the school. The family had found lodgings there by chance when another guest house had let them down. Mrs Lamb kept her small unpretentious home immaculate, and took up to six guests, so the Walkers had been regular visitors for years. There was a restaurant a couple of streets away which provided plain food at reasonable prices. The Walkers liked it for the small alcoves, where diners could talk and eat in reasonable degree of privacy.   
  
When Commander and Mrs Walker reached their bedroom at Mrs Lamb's, Commander Ted Walker said, "Do we have to take any notice of the glumness and doubts about the exams Titty has?"  
  
"No, Ted," said Mrs Walker. "I spoke to Mrs Mountheard the other week, and she specifically said I am to take no notice of Titty's doubts. Mrs Mountheard told me she is sure that Girton would accept our Titty this year."  
  
"Titty seems awfully small, shy and, well, schoolgirlish, to be going up to Cambridge in a few months time," said Commander Walker doubtfully.  
  
"I said much the same to Mrs Mountheard, and do you know what she said?" said Mrs Walker.  
  
"No?"   
  
"She told me I didn't know my own daughter, and that Titty would cope very well, because she is so organised when it comes to academic studies. That beneath the shyness and modesty, she has an iron will." Mary Walker coughed, and added, "She told me that Titty's results will be outstanding. And when the university discovers how she can run they'll want her all the more."  
  
Commander Walker said, I was told she's been asked to run at meetings all over the county."  
  
"I'm not sure, Ted," said Mrs Walker. "When she goes off running, does anyone go with her?"  
  
"Yes," said Commander Walker, who had asked the same thing. "A teacher always goes. Often Mrs Morrow, whom we know Titty likes, and sometimes Miss Pickles whom she doesn't. And, Roger has every intention of going with her when his exams are over. He has already spoken to his housemaster about it."  
  
"He's growing up," said Mrs Walker, but she was still frowning over Titty.   
  
"Do you know why she doesn't care for Mrs Pickles?"  
  
"I gather the woman doesn't like it when Titty goes dreamy, which I think is when Titty doesn't want to do something."  
  
"I am afraid I think that too," said Mrs Walker, with a quick grin, for she knew exactly from where her daughter had inherited that characteristic.  
  
"She is an odd mixture," said Commander Walker fondly. "She can be such a dreamer, so very untidy one minute, and the next minute she's very practical with her feet firmly on the floor. Well, Well," he said, "I know where she gets that from."   
  
And his wife was firmly kissed.  
  
"By the way," Mrs Walker said, "Did I tell you that at Easter Bob rang up, and asked Titty to do some translating?"  
  
"No, you did not," said Commander Walker.  
  
"I gather they were most impressed. I thought you must have had a hand in it?"  
  
"Not I," said Commander Walker. "Where did they get the idea that I ever suggested she should work for the Admiralty, I wonder?"  
  
"I've no idea myself," said Mrs Walker.  
  
The family gathered, and went off to dinner. Once it was ordered, Commander Walker surprised his children, but not his wife. "Did you know that John and his colleagues have joined up to buy a little ketch?"   
  
Delighted, his children grinned at each other.,  
  
"No, we didn't," said Roger, "When did he do that? And how does he think he is going to get it back here when his posting comes to an end?" Roger pulled a face. "If it ever does."   
  
His father said, "John bought her some months ago, from some businessman who found he didn't have time to sail her. He and his friends intend to sail her back sometime next year, when his posting ends," said Commander Walker.  
  
"Gosh, a real voyage," said Roger, "Has it got a billy, this ketch?"  
  
"Yes, it's got an engine," said Commander Walker.  
  
"Who's looking after it?"   
  
Commander Walker grinned, "One of the chaps is an engineer, I believe."  
  
"How will he get enough holiday to sail her back?" asked Bridget.  
  
"His CO has already offered extended leave," said Commander Walker, who had done the same for some of the young sailors under his own command. "The Navy's quite keen on such ideas, reckons it teaches officers self reliance."  
  
"What's she called?" asked Titty.  
  
"She was called 'Lucifer', but the old owner wanted to keep that name, so they've called her 'Sinbad'."   
  
Titty laughed, "Self reliant and a survivor."   
  
Sinbad was the Walker family's pet cat. John had picked him off a hen coup in the North Sea, and if ever a cat had nine lives, it was Sinbad.   
  
"What do you think, Mummy?" asked Bridget, the least experienced sailor amongst them.  
  
"It scares me a little," said Mrs Walker, no mean sailor herself, "Because small ships are so often lost when crossing the oceans. But if I had had the chance to do such a thing I'd have taken it. And I think John's common sense will see him through."  
  
"How big is she?" asked Titty.  
  
"34 feet," said her father.  
  
"That seems quite big, much longer than the dining room," said Bridget.  
  
Commander Walker smiled, "It's not very big, when in a storm waves can be up to sixty feet high. She would be just a speck in the ocean."  
  
"That's scary," said Bridget.  
  
Giving her husband a look, Mrs Walker said, "She was built in India of Indian Teak. So she's tough, reasonably new, and robust. But she's likely to be rather slow."  
  
"She's going to need to be solid to make that trip," said Roger. "But I wish I was going. Daddy, are you sure John's friend can manage an engine?"  
  
"How are you getting on, Bridgy?" asked Titty quickly, seeing her father's face. "Are you enjoying your music?" She felt that she had been so absorbed in her exams, she had hardly given her family a thought for months.  
  
"Yes, lots," said Bridget. "I'm going to summer school if Mother will let me, and if it's not when Daddy leaves for China."  
  
"Any concert engagements yet?" Roger asked, with his cheeky grin.  
  
Bridget put out her tongue, but went on, "No, but I've been asked to play for a schools orchestra in Suffolk. So that's sorted you."  
  
The main course arrived, and there was silence for a while as they all ate. That finished, the sweet arrived very promptly, so the silence lengthened.  
  
"That was good," said Roger, "I enjoyed that."  
  
There were a chorus of "So did I".   
  
Mary Walker and the Commander had coffee, and their children soft drinks.  
  
"I'm thinking of learning Mandarin," said Titty suddenly.  
  
"Why Mandarin?" asked Roger.  
  
"Because it's an interesting language," said Titty.  
  
"I should do Japanese," suggested her father.  
  
"Why Japanese?" she asked.  
  
"It might be useful," said Commander Walker.  
  
"Why useful?" asked Roger.  
  
Commander Walker's mouth tightened, and he lowered his voice, "We might be at war with them sometime."  
  
"But Japan's miles away," said Roger.  
  
"It's not miles from where John is now, nor where I am going soon. Nor is it so far from India, Australia or New Zealand or other eastern colonies. The Japanese have ambitions to expand their empire. And I am sure they would be interested in getting to know the English men and women who would visit these places,"  
  
"Does that mean we we'll soon be at war?" asked Bridget.  
  
"Ssh," said Mrs Walker.  
  
They left the restaurant and began to walk back to Mrs Lamb's, where they went and sat in the guest lounge and restarted the conversation.   
  
Commander Walker began, "I do not think a war will begin for a while anyway, indeed it may never happen. But I think it will happen eventually." Even in this lounge he lowered his voice again "But I think we shall have a war in Europe within a few years, unless I'm much mistaken."  
  
"Oh," said Roger, "In our current affairs class Mr Maillard was talking about it, and said that he thought there might be war in Germany. Most boys think he's silly."  
  
"I am afraid he isn't," said Commander Walker quietly, "And I'm glad to hear it's being discussed in school. I'm encouraged."  
  
"A man called Hitler," said Roger, "And a political party called the Nazis?"  
  
"Yes, that's right, but let's not talk about it anymore. But do read the newspapers carefully when you get the chance. And take note of what a politician called Winston Churchill is saying."  
  
It was Bridget who asked, "Why should Titty learn Japanese?"  
  
"What is the most useful thing that one country at war with another might need to know?" asked Commander Walker.  
  
They thought for a few minutes and Roger said, "Information, about what the other side is doing."  
  
"And what do armies, air forces and navies have to do to direct their forces, planes and ships?" asked Commander Walker.  
  
"Send messages," said Roger, "To their forces. Very carefully, so the enemy doesn't see them."  
  
"Exactly," said his father, "And very often it is more complicated than that. Translation is very easy for some people, so we usually send messages in code."  
  
"So the enemy have to find the key to break the code?" asked Titty, interested.  
  
"Yes, that's right," said Commander Walker. "Or we do for theirs. At present it's mostly, I think, that the codes are is happened upon by chance, but that chance is an educated guess." He tapped the side of his nose. "But if you're at war with a country, it becomes much more important to translate the messages. And quickly. Governments are always interested in what other countries' rulers are doing, and not just what they are saying they are doing."  
  
"Is that very often different then?," asked Bridget.  
  
Mrs Walker smiled, somewhat grimly, "You've heard the story about the wise old owl? Who the more he heard, the less he spoke? Well, you can say, the more you hear, the less you can afford to believe."  
  
"Going back to codes and coded messages," said Roger, "In our history class we learnt about codes in connection with the American Civil War. Do people use codes all the time then?"  
  
"Yes," said Commander Walker.  
  
"That's interesting," said Roger, "I didn't know that."  
  
"Like sending messages in semaphore. Like you used to with the Amazons," said Bridget.   
  
"Yes, exactly," said Commander Walker, "Except that lots of sailors know semaphore, but other countries' secret codes are much more difficult to break. I'll tell you more about it sometime." He smiled. "Now, it's bed time."  
  
Quietly, the Walker family finished their night time drinks and went to bed.  
  
In the morning, Titty came downstairs to breakfast to find her father there with his newspaper. They were alone, and Commander Walker put it down his paper and asked, "Titty, how do you really feel about going to Cambridge?"  
  
"Daddy," Titty said, "I'd love to go. And I do so hope I've done well enough. It's such a long time to wait until I get the results and find out. I'm tired of school. I seem to have outgrown it, and it isn't the challenge it used to be."  
  
"I think you are almost too old for school, too," said Commander Walker. "And I have every faith that you will get into Cambridge, Titty."  
  
Titty smiled. Then she said, "Daddy, you know what you were saying about messages yesterday?"  
  
"Yes, what are you thinking about?"  
  
"If I could learn how to break codes," said Titty quietly, "I could be useful. I might even be useful to you and John."  
  
"Careful," said Commander Walker. "It's very hard and dispiriting work, and it is sometimes hard to know if you've got it right. A single word can make a big difference."  
  
"Are people working on the codes yet?"  
  
"Oh yes, all the time, but it's never enough. Besides," Commander Walker added, "Titty, remember people with information, particularly secret information, are useful to the enemy. People who know how to break codes are always top of the hit list."  
  
"Yes, I see," said Titty, although she could not help adding, "But it would be useful."  
  
The others came down to breakfast, and no more was said, then.   
  
The meal was in full swing when Roger asked, "Titty, are you doing any running at the moment?"  
  
"I think so," said Titty.  
  
"What running do you think you might be doing, then?" asked Roger, well used to his sister's capacity for deliberate vagueness.  
  
"The school want me to run in the Inter Schools two mile. And then the school three mile is after that, and two days later there's sports day." Titty was frowning; she still wasn't quite sure if she could manage all three races in such a small space of time.  
  
"What would you think if I turned up for the Inter Schools?" asked Roger.  
  
"That would be wonderful," Titty smiled. "It would make such a difference to me."  
  
"If I can, I'll be there," said Roger. "I think I can make old Million Years let me off for half a day."  
  
His father looked at him and thought, this isn't the old Roger we used to know. Roger had, Commander Walker knew, gone to some trouble to persuade the school to start an engineering and technical drawing class. It was paying off in unexpected ways. Since Roger had taken up technical drawing, he had begun to work hard at school, something which he had never done before.  
  
After breakfast, when they got upstairs Commander Walker said, "Molly, Roger's growing up. What's got into him?"  
  
"Two things," said Mrs Walker. "One is that the engineering and technical drawing classes he has been doing have made him really keen to do well, and then the school giving him the rugger 2nd XV captaincy. That was a master stroke. It was Mr Yearly's idea, rather than the sports master's, I believe. He even plays 2nd Xl cricket for the school now as well. When he chooses to be quiet about things, Roger can be as secretive as John and Titty. I think he has woken up to the fact that other subjects will help with his engineering, and begun to work at those too."  
  
"Not before time," said Commander Walker.  
  
"Maybe not, but be glad it's come when it has. He'll never match Titty, but he is working on English and History. Which he treats as a sort of extension of engineering, I think," said Mrs Walker, smiling.  
  
"And Titty's just asked me about becoming a code breaker," Commander Walker said. "Of all things. I hope she doesn't do that."  
  
"You won't stop her if she decides to do it," remarked his wife.  
  
"I told her it was dangerous, and she didn't even blanche. I wonder if she's serious about doing other languages, she really seems to find it easy!"  
  
"They're growing up, Ted. They aren't children anymore. Mrs Mountheard is really enthusiastic about Titty going to Cambridge, and not just for Titty's sake. She seems to think Titty will be a great credit to the school if she gets there."  
  
"Titty badly wants to go. I was surprised, I thought she'd be reluctant to leave school," said Commander Walker.  
  
"According to Mrs Mountheard," Mrs Walker said, "There is no doubt about her entry. But obviously she can't tell Titty that. So I wonder what Mrs Mountheard knows, and or what someone has told her. I wonder, should we do anything to help? Can we?"  
  
"No, nothing, let her get on with her running," said Commander Walker. "I've used the fact they're sending me away to get permission to go to sports day, and I think I'll try to be there for this three mile school race too. Preparation will keep her busy, and do her good. Isn't she to go to the Jacksons's, and have a few days with Nancy?"  
  
"Yes, well, she was to have gone. I only hope that this business about Nancy's job doesn't mean that's off."  
  
"I think she might know whether she's passed soon after she comes home from there," said Commander Walker.  
  
Mrs Walker sighed, and said, "It's time we were taking her back to school. I told them I'd get her back well before lunch."  
  
Commander Walker said, " That was just as well, I must be back on deck by five."  
  
So Titty watched the little Austin bowl down the school driveway and out of the school gates. She turned to resume school life, wondering for how much longer she would still be there. She had responded to her father's question instinctively and she had surprised herself.  
  
It was time to shed the rustiness that had developed with her running, and prepare for the Inter Schools event and sports day. She sought and was given permission to do three circuits of the school grounds every morning. She ran in company. Jemma would never be as fast as Titty, but she trained almost as hard, and Titty admired her for it. Titty would squeeze in a fourth, faster lap in most days.   
  
Mrs Morrow caught her at it and thought, 'She's no sooner finished her exams, than she's training hard.'  
  
After training Titty would go to the library and read the paper. The journalists seemed mainly to agree with her father that sooner or later, England would be at war. And so, as well as running, Titty was thinking about what she might be do in the future . She resolved in that time to become a code breaker one day. Her father had said it was dangerous, but what he and John did was likely to more dangerous. She supposed it was really spying, but nothing as far as she could find was said about code-breaking in the newspapers.   
  
There were other things to think about too. It was eight days to the Inter Schools race, and Titty didn't consider she was fast enough. She knew the only way she ever won her races was by ditching the other runners, as early in the race as she could, and thus getting a good lead. If she was still in the bunch late in the race she never did any good at all.  
Mrs Morrow agreed to time her over two miles, which would help: Titty was determined not to disgrace herself in front of Roger. In school, it was only Mrs Morrow who showed any real interest in her running. She told Mrs Morrow she had no intention of performing badly in front of her big younger brother.  
  
"I will not let him down if he makes the effort to get permission and come to see me run," she told Mrs Morrow, who noted it was running well in front of her family that really counted with Titty.   
  
Mrs Morrow told Titty she would be coming with the Inter Schools party, although it was. Mrs Pickles who was expecting to go. The school team included three sprinters, and a high jumper whom Mrs Pickles she believed would do well. And Titty.  
  
While Titty was at the Inter schools Mrs Walker made her visit to Mrs Mounthead. What Mrs Mounthead had to say rather surprised her, and though Mrs Mounthead had painted a picture of academic success and a bounty of medals for athletic successes she warned of other difficulties Mrs Walker had not foreseen. Titty, Mrs Mounthead told her, would find the publicity surrounding her success on the athletics field had to bear. She would be the target of all manner of interest from those who wanted her to do better and better. It would compete with her academic studies. There too she could look forward to success but again more meant more pressure. It would not be easy for such a shy girl. And then Mrs Mounthead said, "There was Titty herself. Shy, socially lacking in confidence, and uneasy in company. Added to all that she is so private she was hard to talk to, and has a stubborn streak that will make trying to steer her through life's pitfalls difficult."  
  
Mrs Walker felt she had been warned, "What do I do?"  
  
Mrs Mounthead had hesitated and then said, "Just give her every chance and space you can to talk with you. When she wears herself out try and get her to rest. Not only is she academically brillant, but she's one of the hardest working girls in the school."  
  
Mrs Walker did not have to wait long before the truth of Mrs Mounthead's predictions were brought home to her.


	3. Nancy Leaves Home

Mrs Blackett had been seriously cross when Nancy had told her that she had got the Newcastle job, and that come Tuesday she would be going to Newcastle. For Mrs Blackett had truly believed that Nancy would benefit from joining the Circle. It would have given her considerable social kudos if her daughter had joined. That hope was now in ruins, worse because she had given her friends the impression Nancy would join them.  
  
"You can't go over there, you've nowhere to live," she said triumphantly.  
  
"They've booked me into a farmhouse while I get used to the job," said Nancy. It was not quite what had been said, but it would suffice.   
  
"You mean you'd live in some run down farm place, rather than live at home, for the sake of going to work."  
  
"It's a job, Mother," said Nancy impatiently, "And I want a job. I want to earn a living like other girls do. And if it involves flying that's even better."  
  
"Had I known this flying business would lead to this such a thing I'd have never have let you start it," said Mrs Beckett.  
  
"You couldn't stop me once the trustees gave their consent to pay for the lessons," Nancy said fiercely.  
  
"You really mean you'd go over there and live among all those dreadful Geordies just to do some silly job, when you could stay here and go out with me, and join the Circle, and have a proper life and do what respectable girls do? I just can't understand why you want to have a job. And what are you going to do when they get fed up with putting you up at this farm, may I ask? Which is probably dirty, and has awful food. "  
  
 "Then I shall find somewhere else to live, " said Nancy.  
  
"Well," said Mrs Beckett. "If you go, you needn't think you can come back here if it all goes wrong. As it will. I think you're being very silly. And I did so hope you were going to join the Circle, and get to know nice people like Mrs Roach and Mrs Grove."  
  
"Mother, had I stayed here there was no chance I would do that," said Nancy.  
  
"Think of having a decent weekly allowance!" said Mrs Beckett. "The trustees would let you have one, and have a nice proper life going out with me, and caring about your spiritual life."  
  
"I can't see Mr Lisle giving me an allowance if I dodn't have a job," said Nancy.  
  
"I would have made him," insisted Mrs Beckett.  
  
"I doubt it," said Nancy.  
  
It was pointless trying to argue with her mother, who told Nancy she would make sure she would be out the next day, and would not bother to get up in time to see her off on Tuesday. On Monday Mrs Blackett had joined Nancy for breakfast, and again tried to persuade her to give up the idea of going to Newcastle. She got very cross when Nancy showed absolutely no signs of changing her mind. She accused Nancy of letting her down, and how told her she was being ungrateful and selfish.   
  
By this time Nancy was impervious to her mother's complaints. She took the precaution of writing in her letter to Peggy a full account of what had occurred, and her mother's attitude. She wrote she would write more when she reached Newcastle, and keep Peggy updated about what happened to her. It was a short letter; there was plenty to do.  
  
Nancy realized that at the Cragside she had been provided with a uniform, and so had no other suitable clothes. So Monday proved to be a busy day. She spent an hour producing a list of equipment that she thought would be needed in an office, and as the list grew and grew she divided it into must haves and nice to haves. Looking at the list, she began to be concerned that it would be expensive, so she began to underline items she felt might be costly.   
  
Once that was done, she looked at her wardrobe and decided the Cragside skirts and one of the jackets would suffice, but the blouses were emblazoned with the Cragside logo. So at about twelve o'clock she took herself off to Ambleside to visit the dress shop she had used for years. The assistant there provided her with some options, and pointed out that Nancy would need winter outfits and things for summer. Nancy decided to put off buying winter clothes until she was more confident she would be staying in Newcastle, and anyway she surmised it might not be necessary to be so smart. When she got home, Georgie rang to say he had had someone cancel and would she like to come across for one last lesson? Surprised, because usually Georgie liked to keep Mondays clear to do the administrative and maintenance chores, she went home, grabbed a sandwich and went out. It was a short lesson tinged with nostalgia. Nancy queried how much her instructor wanted for the last month's tuition but he waved away her query.  
  
"Your trustees pay at the beginning of each month, and I never have to chase them up as I do so many. Besides I've enjoyed teaching you the rudiments. I hope those lads treat you well, let you do some flying and put you through the commercial soon. Be a good girl and keep those feet of yours on the tarmac."  
  
They took leave of one another.  
  
At home, she piled all she thought she needed to take on her bed, and began to pack. Space was limited, for she would not take her car until she was sure there was somewhere to put it. Cook came up and looked at the pile.   
  
"You'll need more than that case of yours and a small rucksack to get that lot in. I know where one of your uncle's old bags is. He'll not notice one's missing," said Cookie. "I'll get it." She reappeared a minute or two later with an old canvas bag. "This'll do, Miss Nancy. Your Uncle hasn't used yon for twenty year; it's old, but it'll do you. I think you're showing good sense, you need to get away from your mother for a bit. If you stayed you'd only row with her, and you certainly need a job. I'll see to it I send you off with a decent breakfast. Do you want me to order you a taxi?"  
  
"Yes please, Cookie," said Nancy gratefully.   
  
It was well into the afternoon before Nancy finished, and rang Mark's father to confirm she would be on the train.   
  
He asked, "Have you got that list of office equipment? They really need to get their paperwork in order."  
  
"I have," she said.  
  
"Good, I've already given them a wigging for the state they've got themselves in," Mr Hughes said. "Cheerio. See you tomorrow."   
  
It was all going to be very different from Cragside Hotel, and for the first time Nancy began to understand just how different it was going to be. She decided it would be good to go up the fell again to sit and think for a bit, and so she did.  
   
Her mother arrived home at about seven thirty, as Nancy was finishing her dinner.   
  
She said, "You'll be having some very lonely meals over there in Newcastle, but you'll soon be home and then we can finish with this silly job business for once and for all."  
  
"I'm leaving at seven tomorrow, Mother," said Nancy.  
  
"Well, you needn't expect me to get up at that time to see you off in the morning," grumbled Mrs Beckett. "Why don't you call the whole silly idea off?"  
  
Nancy turned away and went upstairs, wondering briefly where she would land up in the end.  
  
In the morning, Cookie, as Nancy knew she would be, was as good as her word and prepared her a full English breakfast and a packet of sandwiches.  
  
"I might be cooking for myself, Cookie, so can I have some of your recipes when I've got settled?" asked Nancy.  
  
"Of course you can," said Cookie, and added, "I thought Miss Titty was coming in a while?"  
  
"She was," said Noncy. "But I don't know what will happen now. She was going to stay at the Jackson's."  
  
"That's sensible with your Mother in her present taking, but I shall miss cooking for her," said Cookie. "She's such a lovely lass."  
  
"If she comes, I'll smuggle her in to see you sometime," said Nancy.  
  
"You do that. I'll be pleased to see her again."  
  
Not for the first time Nancy wondered why it was that all the natives liked her dreamy friend.  
  
The taxi was on time, and the old station master at Windermere saw to it that she didn't have to carry her bags. Somehow the local bush telegraph had been its efficient self.   
  
The station master said, "Going away to work, Miss Nancy, with your Mother and your Uncle as they are your doing right?" He ensured she was settled comfortably.   
  
It was all very well, but she'd have to manage her luggage by herself at Oxenholme and Carlisle. But at Oxenholme a porter was looking out for her, and at Carlisle again a porter just happened to be around when the train drew in. Nancy had spent some of the journey checking the lists she had made, and adding to them. She began to have her first doubts. Suppose her mother was right and she wasn't able to cope with living alone? Suppose the partners were not as nice as they seemed, and suppose she didn't meet their expectations? Nancy did not dwell on these ideas; she had no intention of giving up on her promises to herself. If she had to, she'd go back home to live, but she would not get involved with her mother's funny friends. If her new job turned out right, it could be the opportunity of a lifetime.   
  
Nancy wasn't to know, but she would soon be so tired she would have neither the time nor the energy for such doubts.   
  
The train clanked across the Tyne Bridge and pulled into Newcastle Station. A porter saw her struggling with her bags, and carried them through the barrier. He asked the waiting Mr Hughes, "Which car, sir?"  
  
Mr Hughes pointed to a Morris 10 while Nancy was looking for the big Austin.  
  
"Welcome to Newcastle, Nancy," he said. "Did you have a decent journey?"  
  
"Yes, thank you," she said.   
  
"Come on," said Mr Hughes, "We've heaps to do. Mark's only got this afternoon."   
  
The roads were busy and Mr Hughes was silent as he worked the car through the thronging traffic. When they reached the open road, he said, "Humph. I told those boys you were the one for them, not those fancy young men with their swanky cars. Now I've seen more of the mess they've got themselves into with their paperwork I know just how right I was."   
  
It was on the tip of Nancy's tongue to ask how he knew, but she thought better of it.   
  
He went on, "I knew Master Conway you see, so I'd done some homework. He'll do a sight better without that wife of his, and he's still got the biggest share in that hotel. Now he'll start another, you see. All right Conway is, made sure you were all right, didn't he?"  
  
"Yes. Yes, he did," said Nancy, surprised.  
  
"Put a good word for you with us too, into the bargain."   
  
Nancy thanked her lucky stars she had been scrupulously honest.  
  
"His wife won't last long there, you see," said Mr Hughes. "Then he'll have to get her sorted. Hope my boys got those sandwiches, we'll have a working lunch. And I'm looking forward those lists, I hope they're handy."  
  
"Yes, they're in my rucksack."  
  
"Good lass."  
  
Indeed the sandwiches were ready, and there was a big hunk of fruit cake each too.  
  
"Mrs Rolls does us proud. We'll go and see her tomorrow," said Mr Hughes.   
  
Nancy had eaten Cookie's sandwiches as a second breakfast, and was very ready for the lunch, especially the mug of coffee. Then they, together with Mark, worked through the Nancy's list.   
  
Mark was impressed. "Why folders? And why a punch?"  
  
"I thought we ought to keep incoming bills and copies of our invoices separately and in order, and use the bookcase to store them," said Nancy.  
  
"Lots of paper I see, that's good, and a diary, we never thought of that. It's a good idea."  
  
"Ha, she'll keep you in order - and I think you need it," said Mr Hughes.  
  
"How up to date is the invoicing?" asked Nancy.  
  
Mr Hughes answered. "It's not, I've had a look."  
  
"How will I know who to invoice and how much to charge?" asked Nancy.  
  
Mark replied, "We'll have to think that out. It's all been very haphazard up to now. Basically we've tried to remember what we thought best, or what we told a customer. Hmm, and I bet we've probably done jobs which we've never invoiced, which is why we thought we ought to have someone to do the paperwork. Pete was saying we ought to have a system."  
  
"Right," said Mr Hughes, "I'll go into Newcastle and get this stationery as I think fit, using Nancy's list, but I'll only buy the essentials. You can take Nancy through those piles of paper and work out what you want her to do. Pete won't have much time tomorrow, but I'm willing to bet you've got more paper in those desks of yours. Then we'll have a get together on Friday afternoon. And make a ruddy list, so that I know what you're doing too."  
  
"All right, Dad," said Mark, smiling.  
  
Basically there were three piles, bills, invoices that seemed little more than scraps of paper which didn't mean much to Nancy, and other papers.  
  
"What are these?" asked Nancy, thumbing through the other scraps of paper.  
  
"Oh," said Mark. "That's work which we haven't invoiced yet."  
  
Nancy looked through the invoices. At first they seemed to very haphazard but on closer inspection, most had just enough information to enable her to invoice customers. There were about fifty pieces of paper. Nancy was astounded, for at the Cragside customers were expected to pay before they left the hotel, except for half a dozen regular customers who paid once a month.   
  
The second pile of bills was not much better; there was seldom any indication as to whether the bill had been paid or not. There appeared to be no system of recording what had been purchased. The third pile was of various letters and queries, but there was nothing to indicate if the matter had been dealt with or not. There was no telephone book or address book, and no system of filing essential paperwork. There was no safe, and in the desk drawer was a cardboard box with quite a lot of money in it. Nancy began to appreciate how well organized Mr Conway had been, and wondered if she was really up to sorting it all out. Then Nancy noticed Mark was not keeping a note of what they had done, and somewhat diffidently mentioned it.  
  
"Crumbs," he said. "Dad'll kill me. Thanks."  
  
"Let's make a list now," said Nancy.   
  
She made the list with Mark's help. It was largely concerned with notes about invoices and bills, a way of keeping them, and of making sure they'd been invoiced, and what to do when the bills had been paid.   
  
Mark said suddenly. "Could you think about it, and come up with how you could do it, and explain it on Friday?"  
  
"I'll try," said Nancy.  
   
"Talk to Dad about it. He understands these things far better than I do," said Mark.  
  
At this point Mr Hughes came in with a pile of boxes. "There are more in the car," he said.   
  
"Then shall I get some tea?" asked Nancy.  
  
"Yes, please," said Mr Hughes immediately. "There are some biscuits in the tin, Nancy."  
  
The little kitchen wasn't very clean, nor was it very tidy, but Nancy soon found what she needed, made the drinks and brought them out to the men.  
  
"Dad," Mark said. "Can you leave the boxes for now and go through the list we've made?"   
  
Mr Hughes immediately began to see the difficulties of distinguishing between what had been invoiced and what had not, and what bills had been paid and which had not.   
  
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know I've said it before, but I think you and Pete have allowed things to get in a right mess. Whatever you do don't expect Nancy get it sorted any time soon. You'll need to give her a chance."  
  
"Right, Dad," said Mark.  
  
"Nancy, we'll try and sort out a simple system and then you'll have to try and get this lot sorted. I don't envy you, but it will be interesting. Have you been taught double entry book keeping?" asked Mr Hughes.  
  
"Yes," said Nancy. "Mr Conway drummed it into me."  
  
"Well that's a relief," said Mr Hughes. "I've bought three ledgers, but we may need more."   
  
Mark went through the list again with his father. It took a while, and when Mr Hughes glanced at his watch he was shocked at the time.   
  
"Come on, Nancy," he said. "It's gone six, and I promised Mrs Ackroyd to be at the farm before then. We must go. Mark, could you ring her to say we're on our way?"  
  
The farm was only about ten minutes drive away, and up a long drive. The farm buildings created a four sided courtyard, with an entrance in one corner. It was clean and tidy, unlike some farms, and there was air of prosperity around the clean yard and freshly painted barns.   
  
When Mrs Ackroyd come to doorway, she was rosy cheeked and of light build and tallish. She smiled at Nancy when they were introduced, and wavedMr Hughes' apologies for being late aside. "Oh, I knew you'd be late, David, it's no bother. So this is Nancy, weary from trying to knock some order into the mess those lads have got into, I'm sure. I'll need to keep her fed and watered while they slave drive her, eh? I can guess there's paper in total disorder," and she laughed gaily.  
  
"Yes, you're quite right, Pat," said Mr Hughes, "As you can well imagine."  
  
They're great lads," said Mrs Ackroyd. "And good flyers I hear, but I can well believe they have neglected the office work."  
  
"Got it in one," said Mr Hughes, pulling Nancy's bags out of the car.  
  
"I knew it. Now, what time will you be picking Nancy up in the morning?"   
  
"Will about eight be all right?"  
  
"Good. Now you be off. I'll see Nancy's looked after. There's no where to have a decent wash in that shed of theirs, and yours is no better. Men!" And there was another gay laugh.   
  
Nancy said good bye to Mr Hughes, and Mrs Ackroyd took her indoors.   
  
"Right, my dear," she said. "I'll show you upstairs. Now most of our guests eat in the dining room, but I thought that you might like to eat with us. How does that sound?"  
  
"It's grand by me," Nancy told her.   
  
She was beginning to take to Mrs Ackroyd's no nonsense friendliness. After the warring with her mother, it was a pleasant change. Her room at the end of the corridor of numbered guest rooms was smallish, with plain sensible furniture that included a chest of drawers, a small table with a strong chair, an easy chair and a single bed, Nancy noticed it the room was not numbered but had a lock. Mrs Ackroyd gave her a key, and told her they normally ate in the kitchen about seven.   
  
"Have a wash and settle yourself," she said. "And then come downstairs for a cup of something."   
  
Nancy stowed her clothes in the drawer and went and had a wash, and then went downstairs. She caught a glimpse of the dining room where the tables were laid for a formal meal, and two couples were already eating. Further along the corridor the kitchen door was open, and Mrs Ackroyd was serving a sweet into dishes.   
  
"I'm not going to treat you formally," she said. "The tea and coffee are in those pots, and the kettle on the stove has boiled. Help yourself, and make me a cup of tea. There's tea in the pot."   
  
Nancy poured two mugs of tea while Mrs Ackroyd went off with the sweets to serve her guests. It was a routine Nancy grew used to. Mrs Ackroyd seldom needed help with serving her guests but was pleased to have Nancy get herself, and Mr Ackroyd a mug of tea. Joss Ackroyd was of medium height, but stocky with broad shoulders and the ruddy face of someone who had worked outdoors most of his life. At breakfast and dinner, Mrs Ackroyd served their meal on to large pottery plates compared with the china plates used in the dining room. She cooked plain food, and plenty of it. The Ackroyds talked of the farming they did; on that first night Mr Ackroyd talked about the auction he had been to that day to buy stock that would arrive the next day. They seemed to know quite a lot about Mr Hughes and Mark and Pete's business, and had a good deal of laughter at the state of the office. The atmosphere was so friendly that Nancy asked if she could discuss any problems with them.   
  
They looked at her with amusement, and said, "Of course."   
  
After the meal Mrs Ackroyd showed her into her office with its lines of books and files, so that Nancy could see how she organised her work. Each file was clearly marked. Nancy noted one was marked tax, and wondered how the partners managed their tax affairs. She took a flying guess that they were either in a mess or non-existent. But Mrs Ackroyd said gently that there was no call to keep Nancy today, as she was probably tired. Nancy was very ready to take the hint. But she determined that the partners' office would look as shipshape and efficient as Mrs Ackroyd's, and was glad to have a standard to work towards.  
  
In the morning, Mr Hughes called for her at ten past eight, and asked her how she did. She told him all was well and how nice the Ackroyds had been to her.   
  
Mr Hughes said, "Joss and Pat are all right. I've known them years. Joss runs one of the best farms around."  
  
He took her to the shed at the airfield, and let her in, suggesting she attempt to see if she could make any sense of the work that had not been invoiced.   
  
He told her, "I have one or two things I must do, and then I'll come in and we'll work together. At lunch I'll tell you more about the set up here, and then I must go out for a bit. Oh, and I'll take you and introduce you to Mrs Rolls and we'll get something for lunch. Pete should be in about lunchtime, but I doubt if he'll stay long." He disappeared in the direction of the next door shed.   
  
Nancy noted that there were two small cars parked opposite the shed door. She assumed they belonged to the partners. As he said he would, after a couple of hours Mr Hughes reappeared, and at his suggestion he took her out to see Mrs Rolls who kept a general store about a mile away. Nancy noticed that besides making doorstep sandwiches the shop sold vegetables and tinned goods, so that it would be perfectly possible to buy all her supplies there.  
  
Mr Hughes bought three lots of sandwiches and more hunks of sponge cake, and introduced Nancy as the lads' Girl Friday. When they got back he went through what Nancy had done, and agreed that it was hard to tell what had been invoiced and what hadn't.  
  
Late in the morning, a man knocked the door and came in with a piece of machined steel. He looked at Mr Hughes and said, "Pete told me he'd get this to Birmingham tonight, but he doesn't seem to be around."  
  
"Leave it with us," Mr Hughes told him, and "Pete should be back with the hour."  
  
When he had gone, Mr Hughes said, "My guess is none of this paperwork has been invoiced."  
  
"But some of these notes appear to go back to April," Nancy said in horror.   
  
 "Well, I still reckon I'm right," said Mr Hughes.  
  
They found a duplicate book that appeared to have been used to write up invoices, and Nancy began to prepare clean copies from the slips of paper as far as she could, although it was seldom that she found an address. Mr Hughes sorted the bills into date order and listed them, putting the amount of the bill down in a second column if they appeared to have been paid.   
  
After they had worked for a while, he said to Nancy, "Time for lunch. I could do with a cup of coffee and those sandwiches."  
  
 Nancy said, "Let me get it," and went to the little kitchen where there was a single gas ring. While the kettle was coming to the boil she took the opportunity to clean up the kitchen area, deciding she would do it more thoroughly when Mr Hughes went out. She washed the plates and the mugs with some water from the kettle. Then she put the sandwiches and cake on the plates, leaving Pete's in the bags.   
  
When she came out Mr Hughes was leafing through the invoices she had made out. He looked up and said, "Those lads are going to have to come up with a better system of keeping track of what work they do, who they do it for, and what price has been agreed."   
  
He took the plate and mug from Nancy and put them on the table leaving Nancy to use the desk. Suddenly Nancy remembered seeing a cheque book in the office drawer. She got it out.   
  
Mr Hughes saw it and said, "Well that's a start. I think that we seem to have no way of telling what's been paid and what hasn't, and since several of the bills are for the same amount, there's no way of telling to which invoice a cheque refers. There might be some statements somewhere, both from suppliers and from the bank, but I'm willing to bet Mark and Pete have never sent out a statement out in their lives. Let's get stuck into those sandwiches."  
  
The words were hardly out of his mouth the beat of an aero engine could be heard, and a Gypsy Moth taxied up to the shed. Two minutes later Pete walked in, taking off his flying helmet as he came and grinning.   
  
"Hallo, Nancy, welcome to the shed. You got here all right then?"  
  
"Yes, thanks," she said, grinning back.  
  
"Ha," Pete said, reaching out with grubby hands. " Is that the bit for Birmingham?"  
  
"Yes," said Mr Hughes. "Wash your hands."  
  
"Coffee or tea?" Nancy asked.  
  
"Cor, that's service," said Pete, running the tap. "Coffee please - black, strong and with two spoonfuls of sugar."  
  
"It comes at a price," said Nancy, feeling more confident after her discussions with Mr Hughes. "We've questions to ask."   
  
Pete grinned again, "I thought you might have. Ask away but I haven't much time, I must get off to Birmingham, but go ahead. Is there anything to eat?"  
  
Nancy brought in the coffee and his sandwiches.  
  
"Great, grub," Pete said. "Now I'll answer for my sins."  
  
"Ronlandson's left a message with Mrs Rolls about being paid., Have you got an address book? And is there a fail safe system for knowing what bills have been paid?" Nancy asked.  
  
"Ha, great," said Pete. " You really have got stuck in. The answers are, his bill is on my desk. If Nancy makes out a cheque I'll sign it. No, we ought to have, and no, nor have we a system for knowing what's been charged and what has been paid."  
  
"Pete, there's an awful long way to go, and Nancy is going to have an awful job to catch up," warned Mr Hughes.  
  
"I know," Pete sighed. "Look, just do as you're doing. Both planes are to have a service so we'll be here all day Friday and Saturday and we'll do our best to clear questions then. But keep the questions coming. Start an address book."   
  
Still eating a sandwich, he went into the partners' room and came out with two big handfuls of pieces of paper. He put them on the desk and said, "This is more work we haven't invoiced, as far as I know."  
  
He picked up his helmet and the part for Birmingham in one hand, grabbed another mouthful of coffee, and picked up the slab of sponge in his other hand. Then he left. Minutes later the plane was taxing crossing to the refuelling point, prior to taking off.   
  
Mr Hughes saw Nancy's face and laughed. "That's the way it is."   
  
Pete had forgotten to sign Mr Ronlandson's cheque that Nancy had in fact made out. Obviously on Friday there was going to be some hard talking to restore some order to the partners' affairs.   
  
"Let's have those sandwiches in peace," said Mr Hughes. "No work for three quarters of an hour. While we eat I'll explain about the set up here."  
  
They each took a big bite into a ham sandwich, and there was silence for a few minutes. Then Mr Hughes explained he had been an engineer all his life, although he had retired early and sold his engineering business. His wife had died unexpectedly and after a very short illness. He told Nancy that, looking for something to fill his time, he'd thought there was a market for repairing old cars and making them roadworthy. He acquired use of the shed next door and began a business. Then his son and Pete began their small air service business, and worked out of a corner of the aero club's hanger opposite. So when the shed next door to his own became vacant he acquired the lease at advantageous terms for his son and his partner. That had been about eighteen months ago.   
  
"I thought originally they were mad and it would quickly fold. But," Mr Hughes grinned and, went on, "I was wrong, and it hasn't yet, so here we are. But they're flyers, not business people, and they've got themselves in a mess, which is why you're here. So I am around the place most of the time. I can commit the next few days to their business after this afternoon, and I shall be here a lot of the time next week, but then I shall have to go back to my own business. I have a few projects, some cars passed to me by garages, and occasionally I'll buy a car which I will do up and sell. I usually have several cars around."  
  
They had just gone back to work when a man came and knocked on the door and brought in a large cardboard tube and a box.  
  
"Hallo, Jim," said Mr Hughes. "This Jim McCarthy of Thompsons, Nancy, and Jim, this is Nancy. She is going to be in the office for now."   
  
Jim was a small young man with an engaging twinkle in his eye. He looked Nancy up and down and grinned. "They're great flyers, those boys, but Dad has been saying for sometime they needed a girl Friday to look after them, so he'll be pleased."   
  
Nancy said, "I've about eight invoices ready for Thompsons already. Could Mr McCarthy take them back with him? There'll be some more later, I'm afraid."  
  
"That's good, I'll be glad to take them," Jim said, before Mr Hughes had time to say anything, "And I'll be back first thing Monday with a parcel for Glasgow, so if you save the rest until then I'll be glad to pick them up as well."   
  
When he had gone, Nancy and Mr Hughes had another coffee.   
  
Mr Hughes said, "I've traced that the lads have paid some of these bills, but there are still thirty or so that are outstanding. Some of them are over six months old. I suggest we forget those unless they're queried. That leave twenty plus, which I suggest you make cheques for and get Mark to sign. He should be in tomorrow morning, and if they have paid them we'll tear up the cheques."  
   
"Mr Hughes," Nancy said, "I can find no account books, do you think I can go into the partners' office and see if I can find them?"  
  
"Yes, do that," said Mr Hughes. "But my guess is there are none. Looking at this lot, I think you'll find they don't know what an account book is."  
  
"Oh," said Nancy. "Are they going to like it when we change things?"  
  
"They've no choice but to like it; they cannot go on as they are. They're going to have to learn, and soon."  
  
Mr Hughes took Nancy back to the Ackroyds about five, and Nancy met the Ackroyd's young children Peter and Lucy. Mrs Ackroyd got herself a cup of tea and Nancy a coffee, and a chunk of flapjack each, and asked, "What do with yourself when you're not at work?"  
  
"Well," said Nancy. "I was learning to fly which took up some time, and I have a sailing dinghy. I walk on the fells, and I have begun to learn to climb."  
  
"Any tennis, or hockey?" asked Mrs Ackroyd.  
  
"I played both at school," said Nancy. "But there were no clubs near home."  
  
"Did you enjoy it?" asked Mrs Ackroyd. "Were you good at games?"  
  
"I played for the school at both tennis and hockey. In fact in the last year at school I captained the hockey first eleven at school," said Nancy.  
  
"I'm asking because there are tennis and hockey clubs in the village who are always on the look out for new members," said Mrs Ackroyd. "We have an excellent hockey side. Would you be interested?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy. "I would. But I need some time to settle in. And I think for at least three weeks I shall be so busy I won't have much time for things other than work. But after that I'd be very interested, in fact it would be great."   
   
"I'll see what I can do for you," said Mrs Ackroyd. "I think they'd welcome you with open arms. They have some good socials to which we all go. I don't think they play tennis to a very high standard, but the hockey team did well last year, there is a village league."  
  
"Thank you very much," said Nancy.  
  
"I can well imagine those chaps have left a lot of work, and are behind hand with their paperwork," said Mrs Ackroyd.  
  
"They're a bit behind," said Nancy.  
  
"I am willing to bet it's a bit more than a bit," said Mrs Ackroyd with a laugh.  
  
Nancy suddenly had an idea, "Can I ask you about keeping accounts? I did double entry book keeping in my last job, but so far as I can tell they've never kept accounts at all here, and starting from scratch is different from continuing an established system."  
  
"Of course," said Mrs Ackroyd. "Joss and I share the office work for the farm, and I keep separate accounts for the bed and breakfast business. Ask whatever you would like."   
  
Nancy thanked her, and they spent the next hour discussing Mrs Ackroyd's excellent accounting system. Finally, she finished her second cup of coffee, and said, "I really must write to my sister, and update her about how I'm getting on."   
  
She went up stairs and sat at the little table, and wrote again to Peggy about what had happened since she had left home. She included the latest information about how her mother wanted her to join the Circle. It was easier to write now that she was fairly certain that Peggy had finished her exams. She warned Peggy she thought their mother would try and get her to do what she had wanted Nancy to do. She could foresee her mother would object to Peggy joining the small insurance company whom she knew were keen to employ her sister. The job would not have suited Nancy one bit, but she could understand, just, that it would suit Peggy.  
  
Thursday saw Mr Hughes disappear with one car and return with another, an old, battered looking MG that seemed to be in a very poor state of repair. He came in waving a wad of paper and grinning.  
  
"There is an advantage in being white haired and having banked at the same bank for years. The bank has given me the statement of those lads' partner accounts for the last couple of years, so we can make a start on checking what they've really paid and what they've received. It will give us a good start to begin decent accounts here. More importantly, we shall be able to be sure there is enough money to cover those cheques you wrote. I am fairly sure there isn't, so we'll have to keep some back. I established they had no overdraft facilities. Then," he said, grinning, "I bought that MG for a fiver. Its been living in a barn for ten years! I shall do it up, and then I'm tempted to keep it."  
  
Nancy walked to Mrs Rolls for sandwiches, and bought two very large slices of a fruit cake very cheaply, because it was rather old. She and Mr Hughes did not go out any more that day, but checked back the invoices and bills against the bank statements, and Nancy roughed out on loose paper accounts in the form that she expected to use. Her tally showed there were a number of cheques they would have to keep back until there was more money in the account. Nancy did write envelopes for the cheques for which there was money. Mr Hughes told her he would give the partners a loan to cover the other cheques, but they would have to leave time for the money to reach the account. And Mr Hughes made a long list of questions for the partners.   
  
Mark flew in during the afternoon but looked so tired that Mr Hughes sent him home with instructions to be in by eight next morning. When they left, Pete still had not got back. Nancy had established a routine of having a drink and a cake with Mrs Ackroyd and sometimes Joss. when she got in from work. She had a re-addressed letter from Peggy telling her the exams were over, and that Peggy would soon be leaving school for the last time. And that her mother was not going to come to Peggy's end-of-school prize-giving.   
In the morning the partners took their planes across to the aero club hanger for servicing, and then came back and put the desks together in the partners' room and began work. They signed the cheques, and began to go through Mr Hughes' long list. Both of them rather shamefacedly agreed to Mr Hughes giving them a short term loan. Nancy showed them the old duplicate book with the fifty or so invoices she had made out, some without addresses and others without sums of money.  
  
"It can't surely be all those?" said Mark. "There's a heap there. It must amount to three hundred pounds!"  
  
"£279. 7s 10p," said Mr Hughes with relish. "Not counting those invoices which we don't know what is to be charged."  
  
Pete was looking through them. He said, "Nancy, you've done all these, you must have worked like a slave. That's great. But we need a proper system in future."   
  
Nancy said, "I thought if you both had a small tear out invoice book you could write out what work you did, the customer's name, and how much you wanted to charge. If I have an address book you won't need to put down the address. Then I could use a larger duplicate book and use the same numbers for invoices, and if Mark's book was 'A' and Pete's 'B' it would be easy to trace."  
  
"Well, we can certainly try that," said Pete, nodding at Mark. "And it has to be better than what we're doing now. You mean you would try and have the same number for our note to you, and the invoice and the receipt if we need it?"  
  
"Yes, that's what I thought we would try and do. So if Mark did a job it would be 2, for Pete, 1, because it's in the first book you use and then number it 004, since it's the 4th job," Nancy said, hoping she was making things clear.  
  
"I think I've understood," said Mark. "Mrs Rolls sells duplicate books of different sizes, so there's a ready supply."  
  
Mr Hughes said, "Now you've sorted that, one of you needs to go through the invoices that Nancy's written out, and help her to fill in the bits she didn't know."  
  
Mark said, "I can't help feeling we've been awfully lax."  
  
"Bluntly, I think you have," said Mr Hughes. "But let's forget that and get it right from now on. Let bygones be bygones."  
  
"You know," said Pete, "I bet we've done work we've not charged for."  
  
"Nancy can't find any account books anywhere. Have you got any?" asked Mr Hughes.  
  
"Account books?" said Mark, "We've never kept any accounts. We just used the bank statements, and waited for the bank to squeal if we went overdrawn."  
  
"I was afraid you'd say that," said Mr Hughes. "Do you pay yourselves a wage?"  
  
"Wages no, we just took money when we needed it," said Pete.  
  
"Well, that won't do for Nancy, you'll have to pay her. And how do you do your tax?"  
  
"I've never even thought about it," said Mark.  
  
"I've always kept records and declared my earnings to the tax authorities, but I suppose the business should pay tax too," said Pete. "But I've never given it a thought."  
  
"Ought we to be paying tax, Dad?" asked Mark.  
   
"Yes, is the short answer," said Mr Hughes. "But it is rather complicated, and you really need audited accounts. I have an accountant who does mine, shall I ask him to look in?"  
  
"Yes, please," said Pete. "You know we may be good at flying goods and people about the country, but we haven't been much cop at running a business."   
  
"Never mind, you soon will be," said Mr Hughes.   
  
 "We've been very careless about money," said Mark. "I only hope we've got Nancy in time."  
  
"Unless I'm very wrong, you have," said Mr Hughes. "Lots of folk get a good idea, start up a business, and realize they need more than that good idea."  
  
It was almost lunchtime, and partners went out to Mrs Rolls to get lunch, and told her they would need the same again on Saturday. After sandwiches and ginger cake, they made good progress through the afternoon. Mr Hughes took Nancy home at 5.30 leaving the partners still at it.  
  
Mr Hughes collected Nancy in the morning, and at her suggestion they called in at Mrs Rolls' and bought duplicate books, a blue set and a red set. Nancy spent most of Saturday doing two things. She filled in a diary of all that had been done since the beginning of the month, and wrote into the diary what they expected to do the next week.   
  
When they had coffee, half way through the morning, Pete said out of the blue, "When we've had this, I'm taking Nancy to the bank to introduce her to the people there, so they know who she is."  
  
For Nancy it was quite a revelation for it was evident that Pete was well known. He got an interview with the Manager straight away, and introduced Nancy. It was this that made Nancy feel she was very much part of the business, far more so than she had been at the hotel.   
  
Back at the shed, Nancy set herself to file the paper work into the files Mr Hughes had bought.  
  
At lunchtime Pete said suddenly, "Nancy, had you any holiday booked?"   
  
She was a bit confused as she had assumed she would get no holidays that year because of changing jobs. But she said, "Yes, I was going to have a friend to stay at a local farm."  
  
"What were you going to do together, just go round the sights?" asked Pete.  
  
"No," said Nancy. "We hoped to do some climbing."  
  
"What, proper rock climbing with ropes and things? " asked Mark.  
  
"Yep," said Nancy. "We've got a friend who's a good climber, and she was going to take us out to show us how to do it properly."  
  
"I think we should let you honour that holiday and pay you half wages for the week," said Pete.  
  
"Wow, proper rock climbing, I suppose the friend who's coming to stay is a big strong girl like you?" said Mark.   
  
"My big strong friend Titty Walker," laughed Nancy, "Is a delicate looking, shy little school girl. But she can run like the wind, and has won a lot of school cross country races in the winter in the south of England. If you saw her in the street you'd pass her by as just another school girl, but just for good measure she's very brainy. She's still sixteen, but in the autumn she'll be going to Cambridge if she passes her exams."  
  
Mark whistled admiringly.  
  
On Saturday afternoon, before she left the shed, Nancy rang a couple of lodging places, and went to see them, and liked neither. She made appointments to see more on Sunday afternoon. She was really tired that Saturday evening and went to bed early and got up late. She walked to Mrs Rolls, only to find the shop shut on Sundays. The garage opposite sold sweets, so she bought a bar of chocolate and ate it. The lodgings she viewed were not good, one room was filthy, and at the other the man was seedy and Nancy took a dislike to him. She returned to the Ackroyd's feeling she was making no progress in finding herself somewhere to live. She let herself in and went up to her room wondering what an Amazon pirate would do. She sorted out which week it was that Titty was to come to stay at the Jackson's, and sent a short letter to her mother to tell her she would be at home for a week and she would be meeting Titty. She wrote to Titty a note to confirm, and then picked up a book and read idly until it was time to go down to the kitchen for her dinner.   
  
Towards the end of the meal Joss and Pat Ackroyd exchanged glances, and Pat asked Nancy how her room hunting was going. and Nancy confessed that it was not going well.   
  
Mrs Ackroyd said, "Joss and I have been thinking. There is a room on the left wing of the house, near the garden wall where the outside steps go up to a door. The plumbing extends to that room and there is a loo there. We've been using it as a store, but the windows at the back look over the fields. We could make it habitable. We thought you might like it?"   
  
It was a lifeline. "I'd be very interested," said Nancy gratefully.  
  
"We'll go and look at it after dinner," Joss Ackroyd told her. "We can put in a bathroom, and there is electricity. It could be made satisfactory."   
  
After the meal they went to see the room, and Joss outlined what he proposed.  
  
 Nancy asked a few questions, and then said. "It sounds wonderful to me."  
  
Joss said, "Well, don't decide straight away think about it and let us know."  
  
When Mr Hughes picked her up she told him she was thinking about the Ackroyd's offer.   
  
She went on, "What are the rules about furnishing a place with your own furniture? Because I fancy having my own."  
  
"I don't know," said Mr Hughes. "Except that it is complicated. If I didn't know Joss and Pat as well as I do, I would advise against it. But if you make a straight forward agreement with them and put it in writing, it would be honoured. At lunch we'll make a note of just exactly what you would like to do. Does that seem sensible?"  
  
"That seems an awful fuss," said Nancy doubtfully.  
  
"I think you would find Joss and Pat will like that rather than just a vague verbal agreement." Mr Hughes stopped when they got to the shed and said, "I made the initial arrangement for you, would you like me to come with you to sort this out?"  
  
"Yes, please," said Nancy.  
  
They sat down and put in a couple of hours hard work, and then Mr Hughes said, "I must go out and get some bits, and do a bit of work next door. I'll fetch the sandwiches. We'll have a talk over the sandwiches. See you."   
  
Nancy continued sorting out the office and the bills, and making out more cheques to be signed now that Mr Hughes' loan was safely in the bank. She did not see him come back. Instead there was a knock on the shed door and Jim McCarthy walked in holding another part; he held the door open and was followed by a strange man carrying a box. He looked like Jim, but older and more smartly dressed.  
  
"Hallo, Nancy," said Jim. "I've brought my father to see you. Dad, this is Nancy."   
  
Mr McCarthy senior shook her hand, and said, "Arthur McCarthy, Nancy, Arthur to you if you please. I understand you're here to get the office sorted."  
  
"We're trying," said Nancy.  
  
"Well here's your first success." He handed over a cheque and went on, "And here is a list of jobs for which we haven't had invoices yet. Some are quite old. Jim said you might have some more invoices for us by now."  
  
"Yes, I'm afraid so," said Nancy, and going through the envelopes she handed him a fairly thick packet.   
  
Jim looked at it, and then round the office, "Well, you do seem to have made jolly good start." He leafed through the invoices Nancy had given him and said, "You are doing well; some of these are really up to date. Your bosses are super lads. They do what they say they'll do, and do it when they say they will, but they can't be trusted with the paperwork. Anyway, nice to have met you, and I shan't keep you. Cheerio." Jim shook her hand again.   
  
As soon as he was gone someone rang and asked if they could get a part across to Barrow. Nancy looked in the diary and booked it in for the morning.  
  
Mr Hughes came in a few minutes later, "Come on Nancy, lunch time."   
  
He brought in supplies of tea, coffee and sugar and a bag of biscuits, and went into the storeroom to make the coffee.   
  
Then the door burst open and a man walked in and began, "What's all this nonsense?" waving a packet of invoices under Nancy's nose very aggressively. "Some kind of trick? What rubbish is it?"  
  
Mr Hughes emerged from the store room and said mildly, "Phillips, they are invoices for work done for you and you know it very well. It so happens I have the receipts for the work. Do you wish to see them? It will take an hour or so to go through them thoroughly."   
  
The man turned. "Oh, I didn't know you were about, Hughes, I'm sorry."   
  
Mr Hughes said more harshly than Nancy had heard him speak before, "You're not sorry at all, Phillips. You thought Nancy was here by herself and you could bully her. Shall I call the police? I'm sure they'd be interested in your behaviour, I believe they know you."  
  
"Oh, please don't do that, Mr Hughes!" said Mr Phillips, his voice much quieter.  
  
"So I'm sure you have enough cash in your pocket to pay those invoices," said Mr Hughes, "If you would like to give it to us now."  
  
"But it's a lot, Mr Hughes," said Mr Phillips.  
  
"Yes, and on the desk there are more invoices for you," said Mr Hughes equably. "Would you like to pay those as well, and then you'd be up to date?"  
  
"Oh, I couldn't do that, I haven't...."  
  
"Got permission," Mr Hughes finished the sentence for him. "And you know as well as I do that you don't have to ask permission."   
  
The man looked warily at Mr Hughes, and to Nancy's amazement took a large wad of pound notes from his back pocket and counted out the money.   
  
"Give Mr Phillips a receipt for his money, Nancy," said Mr Hughes. "And Phillips, if you come again you are to ring me first; or you can send Margaret. That would be much more pleasant. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Mr Hughes," said Mr Phillips.  
  
"Good bye, Phillips," said Mr Hughes.  
  
"Good bye, Mr Hughes," said Mr Phillips.  
  
"You can leave the door open," suggested Mr Hughes, "And then we can see you go."   
  
The man left, driving off in a small car.  
  
"That," said Mr Hughes, "is the unpleasant side of the business. I'll fix a bell under the desk that will operate in my workshop in case of emergencies. What an nice gentleman Phillips is. But on the strength of that pile of money, I think we can afford a fresh cup of coffee, Nancy, don't you?"   
  
Apart from anything else, making coffee gave Nancy a chance to cool down.   
  
When she returned with the cups, Mr Hughes said, "If anything like that ever happens again ring for me straight away. While I was out, I met Joss Ackroyd, and if you like their room proposal you need only to say and they will sort it out." Then Mr Hughes told Nancy the Ackroyds were having a new bathroom suite, and would transfer their old one to Nancy's new room if she thought it was okay, since it had a small bath.   
  
"Thank you. I'll tell them this evening," said Nancy. Then she looked at the pile of pound notes Mr Phillips had left and asked, "What do I do with all that money? I meant to mention it on Saturday. I didn't think it was very safe keeping cash in the cardboard box in the drawer."  
  
"Is that what they do? Can I see?" asked Mr Hughes.  
  
Nancy showed him the box.   
  
He looked down his nose and then after a moment's thought said, "I'll take most of this, and have it in my workshop, and I'll have a word with Pete. I suppose there's no cash book in the desk is there?"   
  
Nancy said, "No."   
  
Mr Hughes shook his head and grinned at her and said, "Among that stuff I bought from your list there was a cash book. Make out an entry for the total cash and make this as an opening balance," Then he said, "By the way, have they paid you yet?"  
  
"No," said Nancy.  
  
"Have you had a letter of appointment?"  
  
"No," said Nancy again.  
  
"It won't do," said Mr Hughes. "I'll speak to them. You must be paid and have a proper letter of appointment."  
  
That night Joss and Pat Ackroyd took Nancy to see the new room, and agreed terms. They said they would get her a proper letter agreed by their solicitor, and a rent book. They also revealed that Mr Hughes had paid them for Nancy's accommodation for three weeks. Mrs Ackroyd approved of Nancy's plan to get her own crockery, bed linen and furniture. "Live with us and pay us rent until the room is sorted and you're in it," Mrs Ackroyd said, and added, "You'll come and eat with us on Fridays when we have a family meal, if you will."  
  
Nancy began to chat to the Ackroyd children, Peter and Lucy, but Nancy was never really at her best when trying to relate to young children.  
  
During the week a number of things happened. On Tuesday morning Mr Hughes gave Nancy a packet made up by Pete. It was her wages, £2.10s and with it a receipt note for her to sign. There was a little note in the envelope - 'As soon as possible I must regularize your tax position. Both of us should be in late Wednesday afternoon to tidy up anything you've found.'   
  
Nancy used the company bank statements to begin a ledger that would hopefully mirror the bank statement in future, and another ledger showing the invoices sent out and the amount paid. She found that they did a lot of work for Mr Phillips, but on Tuesday she had a visit first thing in the morning from his assistant, Margaret, with a cheque. Margaret did not stay longer than necessary, but told Nancy she would come in on the first Tuesday of each month with a cheque.   
  
Mr Phillips never appeared at the shed again.   
  
It became an established pattern of the days that followed that Mr Hughes would pick Nancy up at about eight each morning from the Ackroyds'. He would call in on Mrs Rolls on the way into the Shed, and collect sandwiches which he paid for in cash. He would spend an hour with Nancy going over what had been done, and checking she had no problems, before leaving for his garage. Then he would then come in at lunchtime, and they would have their sandwiches and spend another hour or so checking what had been done.   
  
Nancy began to record in the diary what Pete and Mark had done, and check that they had completed a slip that enabled her to issue an invoice. They were both constantly in and out and it seemed to Nancy it was impossible to predict their movements. On the Wednesday they were both in, and they had a session together. Nancy got a formal letter of appointment that stated she would be paid £2..10s a week. It was slightly less than she had been told she would get, but she felt in no position to complain. Pete arranged that Nancy should send out invoices once a fortnight, rather than every time she made them out. He or Mark would sign cheques on the first Friday of the month, so bills would be paid regularly. He suggested that Nancy kept a certain amount of cash in the cardboard box, and she should pass the balance to Mr Hughes for the time being.   
  
She realized that Pete was very much the driving force, and it was he who agreed with customers what they should pay. When Nancy showed the list of those who had been slow to pay, Pete said he would ring them up himself and she should produce a similar list early in each month.  
  
One thing Nancy could not understand were the bills for fuel. They seldom seemed to relate to what Mark and Pete used. Since there was so much to catch up she decided to put the problem on one side for the time being.   
  
Nancy accepted the Ackroyds offer of the new room, and made an arrangement whereby she should remain at the Ackroyds as a paying guest until it was ready.   
  
She began to look forward to her holiday with Titty.


	4. Titty Wins & Loses

Titty returned to school with two things on her mind: to train for the forthcoming athletic events and to learn Japanese. Mrs Morrow, she thought, would allow her to train and have suggestions about what it was sensible to do. Her teacher was quite specific, suggesting Titty should train with Jemma by running three circuits of the school grounds. Titty knew that would not be enough. At Mrs Morrow's suggestion, she went out with Mrs Pickles, joining in the sprints and jogs the games mistress used to prepare her sprinters for the inter schools competition. Mrs Pickles agreed to her attending these training sessions, although she had no interest in distance running and she and Titty had never got on.  
  
On Saturdays Mrs Morrow took Titty and Jemma and one other girl to a local athletics track, and timed the girls over three miles. Mrs Morrow was obviously known at the track and a number of athletes watched as the girls ran round the track. Two young women and a man joined them; they were older and more experienced than the school girls. They took the lead from the start, and on the third lap they speeded up. All three girls followed them. Titty, comfortable with the pace, decided to try an experiment and on the sixth lap she edged up beside the second girl who speeded up. With a mile to go, the leading man increased his pace again, but only Titty followed and she hung on until the end, although the gap between them grew bigger.  
  
When they finished and the race was over, the leader turned to Titty and said, "If you run like that in any inter schools event, you should think you'll win."  
  
Mrs Morrow had checked Titty's time at the two mile point and told her later she thought Titty wouldn't disgrace herself at the Inter Schools. Praising all three girls on their running, Mrs Morrow was herself very pleased that the school had girls with such an interest in distance running. But she had to point out to Titty that her next race was two days earlier than Titty had thought it was.  
  
Meanwhile Titty had seen Mrs Brownlee, and asked her about learning Japanese.  
  
"Why do you want to do that?" Mrs Brownlee asked.  
  
Titty was going to tell her language teacher what her father had said, but thought better of it and merely commented that she thought it would be a challenge. Miss Brownlee then surprised Titty by saying she could supply her with books about Japanese, and Titty could practice on her. She told Titty she had lived in Japan for five years and had taught English there to a Japanese family. Titty never found out how it was that Mrs Brownlee had come to live in Japan. Of all her mistresses, Mrs Brownlee was the most private; it was something Titty admired and wished to emulate.  
  
After their conversation Miss Brownlee gave her lessons most days, although sometimes they lasted only fifteen minutes. To start with naturally Titty's progress was halting, but she felt it was a beginning.  
  
Many years later those lessons were to prove invaluable, and she was to be very grateful to Mrs Bownlee for giving her a start.  
  
Runs with Jemma took place everyday, and Jemma also joined Titty in doing sprints and jogs with Mrs Pickles and several other girls. The extra practice helped. By the Thursday before the inter schools race Titty knew she was throwing off the rustiness that had grown up during the exams. As usual Mrs Pickles was gloomy about Titty's chances in the inter schools race. "You'll get well beaten and won't be placed," she told her.  
  
That was enough to make Titty very determined to do as well as she possibly could. Mrs Morrow's last advice to Titty was simple, "Whatever you do, don't go steaming ahead early in the race as you did in the winter in cross country races, because you are not as good on the track as in the country. Will you promise me?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs Morrow," Titty promised.  
  
She continued to train every day with Jemma. They went to the inter schools with Mrs Pickles, and with several sprinters and a high jumper whom Mrs Pickles was sure would honour the school. One of the girls came second in the 220 yards and the high jumper did a personal best but still could only manage third .  
  
By late morning Roger had arrived, and was sitting in the small stand, his stomach full of butterflies for his sister. When the two mile race was announced and Titty had to go and book herself in, Roger went with her.  
  
The official looked Roger up and down and said rather severely, "Are you her teacher?"  
  
"No I'm not," said Roger. "I'm Titty's brother."  
  
She looked at her list and said, "Are you now? Where's Mrs Pickles?"  
  
"I don't know," said Titty, somewhat abashed.  
  
"I do," said the official, "Consoling her sprinters. Will you undertake to look after your little sister, young man?"  
  
"Yes," said Roger, "But she's my big sister."  
  
The official laughed, "You'll do. Good luck."  
  
Titty felt as she lined up that all the other girls seemed taller by several inches, and looked much stronger than her. Then the whistle blew. Away they went, and Titty did as Mrs Morrow had told her. But by the end of the first mile the pace seemed slow, and she was running fourth. Just after the fifth lap the leading girl faltered, and suddenly Titty heard a roar,"Go on, Titty!" It was Roger.  
  
That gave her courage, and Titty burst round the faltering leader and ran hard. She wasn't to know but the gap behind her opened: five yards, ten yards, and then twenty yards.  
  
A small dapper man was standing next to Roger, and asked him, "Is that your sister?"  
  
"Yes," said Roger.  
  
"She'll win; they'll never catch her now," he said.  
  
"She's got a long way to go," said Roger. He was beginning to regret having urged Titty on.  
  
But the man said, "She has, but they won't catch her, she's a gutsy little runner."  
  
He was right. For the next three laps the second and third girls sought to keep the gap between themselves and Titty down to twenty yards. But over the last lap Titty steadily increased her pace, and they had no answer to her speed. So over the last lap Titty was away, a tiny flying figure roared on by Roger.  
  
The man beside Roger said him, "Go to the finish, lad, she might need you. If anyone tries to stop you say Mr Dow sent you."  
  
No one did. The official who had booked them in was standing by the finish. She said, "I had a feeling your sister was the one." Looking up at him, she added with a smile, "Little brother. Has she a track suit?"  
  
"No," said Roger.  
  
"Use your sweater, lad, to keep her warm as soon as she finishes," she advised.  
  
Titty ran through the winning tape cheered on all sides, and fell gasping into Roger's arms. He wrapped his sweater round her. By the time the other girls had arrived and finished Titty was no longer gasping, and was draped in Roger's sweater, on her way to the changing rooms.  
  
When she reached the changing room entrance Mrs Pickles was waiting, rather cross. She said, "Why didn't you tell me the race had started?"  
  
Roger, towering over both of them, said shortly, "Because she was running in it."  
  
Mrs Pickles looked even crosser, realising she had made herself look silly.  
  
When they got back to school, she told Titty she had been booked to run at White City in three weeks, and gave her the instructions, and said, "You'll have to fend for yourself. I've done my bit by booking you in."  
  
Titty wrote a note to Roger about her visit to White City.  
  
'Now for sports day,' thought Titty.  
  
Mrs Pickles said no more, even at the sports day training session. The school three mile race was an innovation, and held the day before sports day. This gave Titty just 24 hours to recover before running the mile, and she wanted to do well in both; her parents were coming to see her run in both races. Training with Jemma went only reasonably well. "No racing," Mrs Morrow had told her, and then to take things easy the day before, but to warm up before the race with a very slow mile long jog.  
  
At the three mile race there was only a small crowd, but Mrs Morrow and the headmistress were there, as well as Titty's parents, keeping their distance until the race was over. Two girls went off very fast indeed. Titty made no attempt to follow, nor to lead the second group with which she ran, Jemma ran just behind her. The girls who had gone off first had a twenty yard lead, and they kept up that lead through the first half mile. They had chased away too fast for a race of that length: they faded. Titty knew the second group had not expected that. By the end of the fourth lap the leaders had been caught and fallen back behind the pack.  
  
Titty could hear her father shouting for her and could almost feel Mrs Morrow watching. Increasing her own pace, Titty drew up beside the leaders, who speeded up just as Titty hoped they would. Titty thought, 'I must go past them fast.' Just before the two mile mark she gathered herself, 'Don't come, Jemma,' she thought, and ran. The leading girls in front were caught by surprise when Titty shot past. They had no answer, and Titty was away on her own again. Fortunately, she remembered she had another big race. The gap was decisive and she slowed slightly. Someone was chasing after her but she held on, and did not look back.  
  
Mrs Morrow was watching closely with Commander Walker and Mrs Walker. She turned and said, "Good afternoon, your daughter is running a very intelligent race. I was afraid she'd forget about sports day."  
  
"She's slowed down," said Mrs Walker.  
  
"Yes, I think she remembered she has another race tomorrow, and she's got this one sewn up baring accidents. Plenty of fire power left," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
"No flies on Titty, but she's a funny mix," her father said, almost to himself. "She can be so dreamy one minute, and full of common sense the next. You wonder if the dreaminess is put on, but I don't think it is."  
  
"We're thankful she has the second, even if the first can be infuriating," said Mrs Morrow with a grin, and went on, "Don't worry, Mrs Walker, when the chips are down the common sense comes to the fore."  
  
"We're worried about her going to Cambridge," Mrs Walker said.  
  
"Don't be, she'll do splendidly," said Mrs Morrow, "She'll mature very quickly when she goes to Cambridge."  
  
"Thank you," Mrs Walker said. She was still really worried about her small younger daughter going away to Cambridge.  
  
Mrs Morrow moved away to speak to other parents.  
  
Titty seemed to be dominating the race effortlessly now and ran in hardly puffed. Turning, she saw Jemma was going to finish second. Going back to congratulate her, Titty was thrilled for her friend, who had never had any sporting success before. It would mean so much to her.  
  
Meanwhile Mrs Mountheard appeared at the Walkers' side and, ensuring Titty was out of earshot, said, "Please don't tell Titty, and I cannot tell you officially, but before Commander Walker goes overseas I thought you should know Titty will definitely be going up to Cambridge in the autumn. Apart from her success just now and I hope again tomorrow, you have every reason to be proud of Titty. She is a great credit to you both in every way."  
  
Titty was approaching, and Mrs Mounthead went on quickly, "I shall be busy tomorrow, so I thought it was a good opportunity to speak to you. When do you go abroad, Commander?"  
  
"In August, I think," he told her.  
  
"And for how long?" she asked.  
  
"A full two years, I think it will be. But I never really know for sure. They've promised it won't happen again, but I'm not so sure."  
  
"And John?" Mrs Mounthead asked, for she was well aware Titty was very close to her elder brother, and thought the world of him.  
  
"He should be back the year after next," Commander Walker said.  
  
"I hear Susan is engaged, is that right?" Mrs Morrow asked.  
  
"Yes," said Mrs Walker, "She got engaged at Easter."  
  
"I was altogether surprised when I heard, but she was always a whole lot more domesticated than Titty will ever be," said Mrs Mounthead.  
  
"Yes," said Mrs Walker. "She is forever trying to keep us in order."  
  
Titty had joined her parents and her headmistress.  
  
Mrs Mountheard laughed, turned to Titty, and said, "I can't see you doing that. Well done, the prize giving is tomorrow." She moved on.  
  
"So what happens tomorrow?" her father asked.  
  
"The mile. I doubt if I'll win tomorrow. Some of the other girls are very good. But I'll give it a good try."  
  
"If you do go to Cambridge, is there someone to take your place at cross country?" Her father asked her. He knew very well the school had benefited by having someone who won the inter schools' races.  
  
"Georgie and Pamela are good," Titty told him.  
  
"As fast as you?" persisted her father.  
  
"Not really, I suppose, Daddy."  
  
"Even today the Admiral's found something for me to do," said Commander Walker. "I must be off, see you tomorrow."  
  
Titty stood beside her mother watching her father walk off, a tall gangling figure who covered the ground with deceptive ease.  
  
"Why does Daddy have to work so hard?" she asked her mother.  
  
"The Admiralty have always been the same, because, I think, he does jobs they can find no one else to do," said Mrs Walker. She was thinking just the same herself.  
  
"Where are you staying?" asked Titty.  
  
It was an unnecessary question, but nonetheless Mrs Walker brightened. "At Mrs Lamb's," she said with a smile, and went on to talk about Bridget's latest concert.  
  
The mile was the last race on sports day, but the girls were expected to be there all the afternoon. Titty noted her main rivals ran in neither the 440 yards nor the half mile. Jemma ran in the half mile but came in well down the field. Titty felt partially responsible, as she had told her friend not to try too hard, and now she wished she hadn't said anything.  
  
In the mile four girls went off very fast, and Titty and Jemma followed them. The four girls kept changing the lead. They had obviously organised themselves. At the half mile two dropped away, leaving the other two leading with Titty with Jemma chasing behind them. There were shouts now, but Titty was oblivious: the leaders had surprised her but she could hear them breathing heavily. Titty edged up beside them, the tactic that had served her so well the previous week. They speeded up considerably and Titty dropped back a yard or two, then in the back straight of the third lap the leading girl nearly tripped, and the following girl nearly went sprawling. Titty surged past them both, and at the bell was 20 yards ahead and increasing the gap. But someone was behind her - Titty thought, 'Could it possibly be Jemma?'  
  
But Titty had no intention of being other than on her own and surged forward, the field spread out behind her. She kicked again on the last bend. This would be a grand finale in front of the whole school, and in the final straight the cheers were deafening. Titty had always been popular, particularly with the girls in the lower school. She swept through the tape, with time to make a uncharacteristic little wave. Then Titty turned and cheered Jemma home. The poor girls who had sought to organise her defeat were unplaced.  
  
She still had Roger's old sweater. Cooling quickly after the race, she and put it on, crossed the track and almost fell into her father's arms.  
  
"I did it," she whispered.  
  
The prize giving followed. It was the worst part of sports day for Titty, an ordeal to be gone through. She had to make three visits to the table, and was for the most successful athlete over the two days. Embarrassed, she summoned the grace to turn and hold the cup aloft with a rather fixed smile on her face.  
  
The small dapper man, Mr Dow, who had been at Titty's Inter Schools was standing next to Mrs Morrow. "Thank you for tipping me off. She's good, very good. I'll be at White City but I don't think we can expect too much there. It is a strong field this year. Ros Blackwell is likely to win," said Mr Dow.  
  
"No, I think it's flying too high too. I wish she hadn't been entered, but I cannot interfere," Mrs Morrow told him. "Are you scouting her out for the England team? It's a little soon, isn't it, Coach Dow?" But she was smiling.  
  
Mr Dow huffed. "The Admiralty takes most of my time these days," he said.But I still keep my hand in." He watched Titty on the podium. "That fixed smile tells me she hates presentations?" he said.  
   
"She does," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
"I thought so. I should imagine she has to endure the same sort of success at academic prize giving too. Is she going to university?" Mr Dow said.  
"Cambridge this year, we hope. I don't think we can do any more for her here and I think she's outgrown school."  
  
"I am not in the least surprised; there is something in her face that tells you. What's she going to read?" he asked.  
  
"Languages," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
"Oh she is, is she, and Daddy's in the navy you say?" he asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh, Commander Walker," said Mr Dow. "Of course, that explains it."  
  
Mrs Morrow made no comment and he moved off.  
  
Titty said good bye to her parents after they had taken the details of the White City race, and went back to training., She was training alone now sports day was over, and these were to be her last days at school.  
  
With the permission of his schoolmasters Roger arranged to go to White City. He met Titty off her train, and they made their way to the stadium by tube.  
  
The race official looked a little surprised when Titty booked herself in, but she was given her number. She had only just time to do a couple of warm up laps before the race was called. In a way it was an advantage, since she had less time to get nervous. She felt and indeed looked very small, and felt intimidated when they lined up: all the field seemed a lot older than she was and it was not quite what she had expected. Meanwhile Roger had got hold of a programme and leafing through it found the names of a number of athletes whose names he recognized. He decided that somehow his sister was competing at a much more senior level that she was really intended.  
  
But two laps out she was holding her own, and among the leading pack of seven runners. The seven became six, and then five, and then four. The girls running second and third accelerated with two laps to go, and Titty followed, them, hanging on a yard or so behind. This was faster than she had ever run before. She dared not look behind, but could hear no pounding feet and she had nothing left anyway. She thought she could hear Roger shouting.  
  
At the final bend the two leading girls sprinted away, fighting it out to the finish, but Titty had nothing left and had to let them go. She could not follow, her legs felt like lead and she was so tired. She ran on and crossed the line and fell into Roger's arms utterly spent, sagging into his strength and bending over gasping for breath.  
  
Somewhere in the distance she heard someone say, "Are you her boyfriend?"  
  
"No, I'm her younger brother," she heard Roger say.  
  
"Well, I wish my older brother could be relied on to look after me as well as you are looking after her," came the reply.  
  
Titty stood up, still panting. The race winner, a tall good looking young woman, looked down at her and said, "Well, you did give us a run for our money."  
  
"I just hadn't anything left coming off the bend," Titty gasped out.  
  
"I'm not surprised, you came from no where." She looked down at Titty, "Titty. How old are you?"  
  
"I'm sixteen," Titty told her.  
  
The tall girl gave her a hug, "Still at school?"  
  
"Yes," said Titty.  
  
"She hopes to go up to Cambridge this autumn," said Roger, determined his sister shouldn't be belittled.  
  
"Oh, does she now, are you going to Girton?" the girl asked.  
  
"Yes, if I've done well enough in my exams" said Titty.  
  
"Well then, I shall be looking out for you." She looked down at Titty who still looked exhausted, "Look, let me help you to the changing rooms. You look all in to me. I'll take you off this young man's hands. By the way, my name is Ros Blackwell."  
  
Just as Titty was starting to change a girl came up and shouted at her, "Who the hell do you think you are, you little upstart? I'll see...."  
  
 It was as far as she got. Immediately Ros appeared, with the girl who had come second by her side. She said roughly, "Charlotte, stop that nonsense. This girl beat you fair and square, so go off and have your sulk and leave her alone."  
   
A little crowd had gathered, to Titty's embarrassment. Another girl said kindly, "Just you take no notice of her. You beat us all today except Ros and Liz, and we're very sorry this has happened."  
  
The girl called Charlotte stumped off in high dudgeon. Titty went on to change, now feeling small and thoroughly out of place in her school uniform.  
  
Outside Roger was waiting and a small dapper man came up to him. He said to Roger, "In the last three weeks I've seen your sister win three races, and do well in a third. This is my card. May I have your home telephone number?"  
  
Roger looked at him and he seemed respectable. "I should think so," Roger said, and gave him the number.  
  
Roger meanwhile had had to make some hard decisions. He had very little money, but decided that Titty was in no state to travel back to Norfolk, where her school was, by herself. Weighing up the situation and he rang his school, and by good fortune spoke to his housemaster, with whom he got on. He explained the situation, and said he intended to see his sister back to her school. Giving permission, his master told him he must report to him as soon as he got back to school. "I mean as soon as you're back here tomorrow morning. No messing about on the way."  
  
Agreeing thankfully, Roger rang his mother. She grasped the situation straight away, took the number of the phone box number and told him to stay there until she had rung back. It was a few minutes wait, but it felt an age to Roger. When his mother did call, she told him to get Titty back to school as soon as he could, and to go on to Mrs Lamb's where he was to stay.  
  
There was then a somewhat difficult journey, first by tube and then by train, to the Norfolk station nearest to Titty's school. Roger had just enough money to pay for a taxi to take Titty back to school where he left her. Then the taxi took him on to Mrs Lamb's free of charge. He rang his mother. Mrs Lamb gave him a decent meal, and he was soon in bed. After a substantial breakfast he made an early start back to school. There he found his housemaster, and told him the details of his trip. The master found Mrs Lamb's telephone number and verified what he could of the story.  
  
He commented, "Tell me. I thought your sister was 16. She was entered for a very senior race, wasn't she?"  
  
"Yes sir. I think she was," Roger told him.  
  
"Did no teacher from her school go with her?" the master asked.  
  
"No sir. She was sent alone, and so far as I know they did not know I was there," said Roger.  
  
"Well, I think you should know that your sister's third place has made the sports pages of the Sunday papers."  
  
"What should I do?" Roger asked.  
"Nothing, lay low, but should a journalist somehow get hold of you try and avoid the question and say 'no comment'. By the way, I think you did the right thing yesterday, escorting your sister back to her school."  
Without telling Roger, his housemaster went to see the headmaster, and told him he had told Roger to avoid any questions about the race. Fortunately none of them heard anything from the press.  
  
Meanwhile Titty was having a horrid time. It was quite late when they she and Roger had reached the school, long past dinner time. Mrs Pickles was the duty mistress when Titty reported her arrival back at school, and the mistress grumbled about how late she was returning. Titty had no way of pointing out she and Roger had been as quick as they could.  
She asked gruffly, "Did you finish the race?"  
  
"Yes," said Titty.  
  
"Well, I suppose you didn't disgrace us then. You are to go to your room immediately, and report to me after dinner tomorrow evening. Then I'll consider what to do with you," Mrs Pickles said.  
  
The stairs to Titty's room seemed like the slopes of Kanchenjunga. She had arrived back much too late for dinner, so she went to bed without anything to eat or drink. In the morning, she woke too late for breakfast, and was almost late for chapel. By the end of the service she had a splitting headache and felt sick. She went to Matron for an aspirin, and. Matron took one look at her and made her sit down. Feeling miserably ill, Titty had to get up and go to the bathroom to retch over the basin, not that there was anything to brin up, yesterday's breakfast which she had left at the White City changing rooms loo.  
  
When she came out, Matron took her temperature and demanded to know how Titty had got into this state. Bit by bit Matron dragged out of Titty all the details of her Saturday, including her third place. Matron established that Titty had been sick repeatedly, and that by now the only food she had had in the last twenty-four hours was half a bar of chocolate. Matron put her to bed. Titty quickly slipped into a dreamy muse, and was soon asleep.  
  
Matron went in search of Mrs Morrow, who was the duty mistress.  
  
Matron reported, "Young Titty Walker has come to me for an aspirin, but she was as white as a sheet. Pickles arranged she should go to White City by herself and run in some race. I've established she has had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours, and Pickles arranged she should go to White City by herself and run in some race. We seem to have sent her across London to some major athletic event all by herself. She was there with only her younger brother who seems to have seen her back to school, and done really well. She's running a temperature. I've put her to bed and she's asleep."  
  
"No wonder she's ill, she must have run her heart out,." said Mrs Morrow, still digesting what had happened.  
  
"Tells me she came third," said Matron huffily.  
  
"What," and then, "Of course, what do you expect she did, she's Titty Walker." said Mrs Merrow briskly. "Can you leave her for long?"  
  
"Yes, I think so she's fast asleep"  
  
"You and I are going to Mrs Mountheard, now," said Mrs Morrow.  
  
They met Mrs Mountheard in the corridor with a newspaper under her arm, herself on the way to see Mrs Morrow. She looked at them and said without introduction, "Where's Titty Walker? What's gone on? I've had Mrs Walker on the phone wanting to know what we were doing sending Titty across London without an escort, and why we were entering her into a senior race."  
  
Matron told the headmistress what she had told Mrs Morrow.  
  
"Well, Titty seems to have set the athletics world by storm. The school phone hasn't stopped ringing and we're besieged by journalists. I've left Fred to handle them. Have you seen this?"  
  
In the newspaper article a line had been heavily unlined. It read, "The women's three mile race was won by Rosalind Blackwell after a tussle in the final straight with Liz Rice. Sensationally, they were closely followed by the diminutive Miss Walker, still a school girl, in what was an epic effort. We understand Titty Walker had had a very successful schools cross country season."  
  
"Who organised Titty's registration in that race?" Mrs Mountheard asked ominously.  
  
"Mrs Pickles," said Mrs Morrow grimly.  
  
"And just how did she get back to school?" asked Mrs Mountheard.  
  
Matron answered, "Her brother Roger brought her back. A responsible boy."  
  
"And where's Titty now?" Mrs Mountheard demanded.  
  
Matron answered, "She's in sick bay, running a temperature and hopefully still sound asleep. Pickles allowed her back without even seeing she had something to eat, after she had been violently sick at the race track. It won't do."  
  
"Just care for her and make sure no journalist gets any where near, for goodness sake."  
  
"They'll not get near my sick bay," said Matron.  
  
Mrs Mountheard went to her office and composed a statement. She issued instructions to all staff and senior girls that no one was to speak to a journalist. Fred Mountheard, himself a journalist, had already shoed two journalists off the school premises. As a result, various garbled tales began to circulate the school, which Mrs Morrow scotched by circulating a summary of the facts. Prudently, she omitted the fact that Titty had been allowed to go on her own.  
  
Titty slept on oblivious to the furore. When she woke, she was given some soup and was given more aspirin, then she went back to sleep.  
  
Mrs Mountheard saw Mrs Pickles when she returned to school, and after that meeting, Mrs Morrow was instructed to do Mrs Pickle's duty.  
  
On Monday morning Titty woke up disorientated and very late. Matron, was back on duty, fed her some tea and two more aspirin. Titty slipped into sleep again, to wake about eleven feeling better.  
  
After she had some breakfast, she was sent to Mrs Mountheard, who sat her down and said, "Titty, I want you to tell me everything, and I mean everything, that happened on Saturday."  
  
Titty told her everything she could remember up, until the last bit of the race, when her account tailed into nothing. Then she looked dreamily at Mrs Mountheard, who waited patiently for Titty to finish. Finally Titty said that she could not remember anything, except that someone whose name she could not remember had promised to look for her if she went to Cambridge.  
  
Satisfied at last that Titty could not remember anything more Mrs Mountheard said, "Look, Titty, you were third in that race, and it has caused a minor sensation. Journalists are everywhere and your mother and I think it would be far better if you were at home. She will collect you immediately after dinner, and she will call for you at my house because we can't have you being driven through the school gates. Especially there is only three days until the end of term."  
  
"I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble," said Titty, astonished.  
  
"It is not your fault, my dear." Mrs Mountheard told her. "But you may be away for some time - in fact, you may not be able to return to school. If so, promise you will come and see me when the furore has died down?"  
"Yes, Mrs Mountheard, I will," Titty said.  
  
Mrs Mountheard sent for Matron and they helped Titty to pack her things and move them to Mrs Mountheard's house, which had a separate entrance.  
  
Matron asked, "If Titty needs to be protected, wouldn't she be better here?"  
  
Mrs Mountheard said, "If the Walkers lived in an ordinary house in a normal street I would agree with you, but they live on the Shotley naval base. My understanding is that the base commander has already issued instructions that any journalist approaching the base is on no account to be allowed in. They are not allowed on the site for security reasons. Nor is anyone to get anywhere near the Walkers'. It is an insight, for your ears only, into the Walker's and Titty's relations with the guards. I gather no journalist is likely to get anywhere near her."  
  
Matron grinned and said, "I see, I'm not surprised. That girl can be infuriatingly vague but she's bit of a darling."  
  
Back at the school, Mrs Mountheard sent for Mrs Morrow. She told her to make the staff and senior girls aware that for a week or two Titty was not to be contacted. She went on, "I'm not happy that we did a good job in caring for Titty, and we must ensure such a thing does not happen again. Titty herself is being collected by Mrs Walker after lunch. We think she'll be safer and better protected on the Shotley naval base than here."  
  
Mrs Morrow said slightly defensively, "We could hardly be expected to have foreseen she would do so well. Track running is not her natural forte."  
  
Mrs Mountheard countered "No, but you can expect the unexpected of Titty. But I doubt if she will continue to be our problem. In fact I doubt if she'll ever return here, except as a visitor."  
  
"I believe that when on the base and very unofficially Titty trains with the marines. I gather that she is regarded as their mascot, so I pity any journalist who oversteps the mark. Though I doubt if any of them will get any where near her." Mrs Morrow told Mrs Mountheard. "Part of the sensation seems to have been that she cut such a embarrassed figure on the podium."  
  
Mrs Mountheard said more briskly, "Well if she continues as she's started she'll have to get used to the attention."  
  
Mrs Walker collected her daughter and took her back to Shotley. Titty spent the rest of the week dreaming and reading in the garden when there weren't chores to do. At the end of the week she was due to go on holiday with Nancy. Meanwhile, although the newspaper articles about Titty Walker circulated the base and were seen by various other naval personnel. Mrs Walker saw to it that Titty was not told.  
  
Later, in her rather grand bedroom, Ros had written to her friend Pamela. She wrote, 'Saturday I ran the White City three, Liz came second, and we were chased home in this race we were supposed to walk by a school girl. Titty Walker, I got her name from the list, she is tiny 5' 2" or 3" with plaits down her back, she's just 16 but ran in a close third. I'm confident she had no idea what she had done. Very shy, she didn't know what to do with herself at the medal ceremony, and was still in her school uniform, poor kid. Everyone felt sorry for her. However, I found out from her younger brother she is coming up to Girton to read languages and I've promised to look out for her. Her brother must have been younger, but he was nearly 6' and big. I have to say he was doing a good job caring for his shy little sister.'


	5. They Climb

Mrs Walker and Titty listened intently to the announcements at Kings Cross Station. The train north was due out in 10 minutes from platform 6. They proffered their tickets, one for Windermere and her mother's platform ticket, and Titty found herself a corner seat. It was the first time she had travelled north by herself and she was looking forward to the long journey with a sense of excitement. She was just a little worried; she had belatedly realized she had caused a contretemps by her success at White City and some sort of furore at school. It had unnerved her. She was well aware now that without Roger's good sense and then the protective cocoon created first by the Mountheards and then by people on the base things might have turned out very differently.   
  
One thing pleased her, for she had largely managed to contain her temper. As she had grown older her former angry outbursts at people who interfered with the lives of herself, her friends or her family had matured into a stony silence when things went wrong. But when she failed to keep quiet her mastery of words made these outbursts all the worse. Titty could be brutally rude because of her grasp of vocabulary. This had got her into trouble on a number of occasions. She realised although it had been brief she had been quite ill after the race, and she still could not recall what had happened after the final bend. Also she knew that until Matron and Mrs Mountheard had got a grip of the situation the school had not come out of it very well.   
  
Titty had spent most of the previous week in a deckchair either reading or dreaming about going to Cambridge. It was perhaps unfortunate that in the absence of any other big story journalists had swarmed round the gate into the base wanting to speak to her, until the base commander had come to the gate and demanded they go away. Titty had always been popular on the base and now her stock was higher than ever. Newspapers carrying the story of her success had been passed from hand to hand, though Titty was oblivious of that.   
  
Mrs Walker was of the opinion that Titty would do well to be away from the base for a week. She had decided that meanwhile it would do her younger daughter no harm at all to laze away the week. Titty had worked very hard for the exams, and then thrown herself into a burst of running, and it had all been a bit too much. Indeed, although Matron had looked after her well, Titty still slipped into sleep from time to time. The only thing Mrs Walker had suggested for the holiday was that she should try and find out why she was unwelcome at Beckfoot, for Mrs Blackett had been a good friend to the Swallows as well as the Amazons when they were younger.  
  
Titty enjoyed the train journey and she had never worried about connections, though in fact on this journey there would be only one change. It was at Oxenholme, where the train she was on would continue north and she would change on to a train to take her to Windermere. She had always enjoyed watching the passing countryside and when except when it became flat and urban, and then she turned to her book. On this journey there was so much to think about. The grown-ups, even her father, seemed very sure she would be going to Cambridge in the autumn. A whole lot more sure than she was, because Titty feared her results would be nowhere near as good as they thought. She had done the best she could, but was best good enough?   
  
Then there was her running. She had assumed her third place at White City was a set back, but no one else seemed to think so. She actively disliked the attention she had received, it was most unwelcome. It was, Titty mused, only a running race. Mr Dow, who had spoken to Roger at White City, had rung her mother and talked to her for some time. She knew her mother had rung several people to verify that he was who he said he was, and appeared to be satisfied. Her mother had told her he had said that it would be preferable if she did no competitive running for a while. If she did not go back to school in the autumn she would not have to have anything more to do with Mrs Pickles, and that would be a relief.   
  
After the change at Oxenholme the hills of Lakeland soon came into view and the scenery changed. There were stone walls and grazing sheep replacing the fenced fields and crops. She wondered vaguely why she was going to stay with the Jacksons' rather than at Beckfoot. They arrived at the little terminus at Windermere and the old Station Master was quick to spot Titty among the other holiday makers, "Nice to see you again, Miss Titty. Miss Nancy's parked in the yard. George, take Miss Titty's case and rucksack."   
  
If any holidaymaker objected to the privilege granted to a young girl he was oblivious of it. George put her case and rucksack on the back seat of a little Morris. He waved aside Titty's tip,  
  
"We don't charge locals," he said cheekily.  
  
Titty got into the passenger front seat, and Nancy waved to the bus driver and got into the driver's seat and drove off. When they reached the Coniston Road Titty asked, "Where's the Talbot?"  
  
"At home", said Nancy, "This is mine." She patted the steering wheel possessively and she continued, "The trustees, who manage the money that Peggy and I have been left, let me have an advance so that I could buy it."   
  
The road dipped, rose and twisted between stone walls and metal fencing and then skirted Rio village, until they reached the Jacksons' Holly Howe. Mrs Jackson came out, dusting her hands, to greet her guest and give her give her a kiss. Mr Jackson emerged from the barn to shake her hand, picked up Titty's case and rucksack, and disappeared into the farmhouse.   
  
"How are you, Miss Nancy? And how's the new job? And are you enjoying it?"  
  
"It's fine, I really am enjoying it lots." Nancy said, "Will it be alright if I pick Titty up just after 8 o'clock?"  
  
"Of course, Miss Nancy," Mrs Jackson smiled.  
  
With a wave to Titty, Nancy drove off.  
  
"I'm not making a great fuss of you," said Mrs Jackson. "You can eat with us rather than with the other guests, and I've put you in the little room at the end of the corridor. You have a wash and come down to the kitchen for a cup of tea."   
  
It all belied her words, as no normal guest would never be invited into her kitchen or be able to leave at 8 o'clock in the morning, except by special arrangement. And when Titty got down to the kitchen, she was served with a large mug of tea and a big wedge of fruit cake.   
  
Mrs Jackson observed her guest, noting she looked a little tired. Mrs Walker had warned her that Titty had been a little off colour. Mr Jackson had shown her the newspaper report of the race in White City, and she had made her own deduction.   
  
Titty went to bed early and woke with the light streaming into the little room. She was afraid it was late, but it was only 6.30, plenty of time to wash and dress in shorts and a shirt before breakfast with the Jacksons, just after seven. After breakfast she packed her rucksack with a spare sweater, map and compass and Mrs Jackson's lunch, and went to sit in the shade of the farmhouse. When Nancy arrived just before 8, she was ready. Nancy had the climbing ropes, and their gear was on the back seat.  
  
As soon as Titty was in the car Nancy said, "I'll drive into Coniston and we'll use the Walna Scar Road to get to Dow Crag. Since it is the first time I've led a climb and you've climbed before too, we'll do Easy Gully. I've never been there, and I'm told it's not much more than a scramble, but if we use ropes we'll get in some good practice."  
  
Titty agreed. Along the road to Walna Scar Road Nancy wanted to know all her news. It was a year since they had met last met, and there was plenty to talk about it.  
  
"How did the exams go?" asked Nancy, "How many were there?"  
  
"I did about 15 or 16 papers. Perhaps more, altogether. I don't think I've done as well as I ought to have done." Titty said dolefully, "I should have put in more revision. I keep remembering things I should have put in."  
   
Nancy was short with her, "Humph, you always say that sort of thing. I bet you've done brilliantly, just as you always do."  
  
Titty said dreamily, "I don't know. By the last papers I seemed hardly knew what I was doing."  
  
Nancy asked, "So suppose you've done well, what happens?"   
  
"Then I hope to go up to Cambridge, to Girton, to begin all over again. I'd much rather learn than do exams," said Titty.  
  
Nancy asked, "And if you haven't done well?"   
  
Titty told her glumly, "I shall go back to school. I may be given another chance in December, but probably I'd have to wait till next July."   
  
"That wouldn't be so bad, would it?" said Nancy.  
  
Titty said, "No, I suppose not, but I did want to leave school and go to Cambridge."  
  
Nancy was surprised. She asked, "I thought you loved school?"  
  
Titty admitted, "I'm tired of school, really now."  
  
Nancy said, "Well, I never thought to hear you say that, Able Seaman."  
  
Titty went on, "Well, I really got on the wrong side of Mrs Pickles, the sports mistress, and then there were all those exams. I did quite well on sports day and the younger girls practically mobbed me."  
  
"Why?" asked Nancy briskly, "And what's 'quite well'?"  
  
Titty knew she'd trapped herself into giving away more than she intended, so she tried passing it off with, "Oh, I won a race or two."   
  
Nancy was having none of it. "Give over, Titty, you can't fool me like that, you know. What have you won in the past two or three weeks?"  
  
"Oh well, I won the Inter schools 2 mile, then back at school the 3 mile, and then the mile on sports day. I wasn't supposed to win either the Inter schools or the mile."  
  
"And before that on the cross country courses?" Nancy pressed her.  
  
"Oh, three and four races, but that was only cross country," Titty said, growing increasingly uncomfortable.  
  
Nancy's rejoinder was, "Only cross country, my foot, most of us can't run cross country to save our lives. I used to hate the annual school cross country race. So you win all those races and are your usual bashful self, and then honestly, are you surprised they mob you? You're a star, they want to win like you, but I'm willing to bet they aren't prepared to put in the training you do. I can imagine despite all your deceptions you won those cross country races when you were studying like mad for your exams. Last time you stayed at Beckfoot you made the mistake of leaving one of your revision schedules in the bedroom. Pegs and I had a look, it scared us to death. So don't imagine I don't know what you get up to, so stop blushing and being so modest!"  
  
"I can't help it," said Titty.  
  
"No, I accept you can't help it, it is the way you are and John too. He's just the same." Nancy gave her friend a big hug, a most unlike Nancy thing to do.She went on, "This is the path to the crag. This other one leads to the hause."   
  
They climbed on along the steep little path, and then up the screes that led to the foot of the rocks. There, Nancy consulted the guide book, and they looked up. The climb was very steep, steeper than anything they had done for a long time, but it didn't look impossible. They roped up and Nancy set off up the climb. Before she ran out of rope, she belayed and brought Titty up. They changed over, and Nancy climbed again, cheerfully attacking the rock, but moving slowly.   
  
Two lads came to the foot of the climb and watched them for a few minutes, and then went further along.   
  
Bit by bit, with Nancy leading, they made their way up. The two lads were tackling what was obviously a harder route, and they too climbed slowly, with care and poise. The girls stopped from time to time to watch. When they had finished they went on to the summit, and then walked down to the hause to scramble back to the spot where they had cached their rucksacks. The crag was well in shadow, and they both got into their sweaters and then bit into their sandwiches.  
  
"Bother," said Nancy, "Those two chaps are coming here." They watched as the two men scrambled up towards the outcrop where they were sitting.   
  
Titty said, "They're a lot older than we are."   
  
They were, but just said a hallo and went and sat a little way off. Nancy suddenly asked, "How do you get on with your mum?"  
  
"Very well," said Titty, "She's always been fun, and because Daddy's away a lot we do lots of things together, especially now Bridgie's growing up."  
  
Nancy pressed her, "What sort of things?"  
  
"All sorts of things. We go for walks, and up to London to museums, and she'll borrow one of the navy's dinghies and we'll sail to Pin Mill or Manningtree and have a picnic," Titty told her.  
  
"Gosh, I remember watching your mother row and thinking how good she was, I didn't know she could sail," said Nancy.  
  
"She's better than any of us. Before John came along, she and Daddy raced quite successfully. Why do you want to know?" asked Titty.  
  
Nancy ignored the question and asked, "Does she ever get on at you about having boyfriends, or being respectable?"  
  
"No, never, in fact I think Daddy and Mummy were disappointed when Susan got engaged. They thought Susan hadn't lived enough. Besides, Neville's a bit of a drip," said Titty.  
  
Nancy said, "Mother never took us anywhere. Gosh, I wish my mother wouldn't get on to me to have boyfriends. I can't imagine her rowing, let alone sailing."  
  
Titty was surprised. She couldn't imagine anyone making Nancy do anything she didn't want to do.   
  
Nancy went on, "We're always having rows. She wants me to go out to dinner with her to her friends, and meet their sons and nephews, and I won't. She's joined some spiritualist circle or something and wants me to go to it, and I won't do that either. She didn't want me to get a job either, certainly not in Newcastle. So we rowed about that too - it's why I didn't ask you to stay at Beckfoot."  
  
Nancy did not tell Titty what her mother had said about her, or that she was very cross when Nancy had told her she was meeting Titty.  
  
Titty said, "Oh no, Mummy never does anything like that. Lots of the sailors and young officers are friendly but they're not boy friends. Daddy and Mummy go out together sometimes, but I can't remember them going out to dinner in the middle of the day without us."  
  
Nancy said, "Uncle Jim has become a recluse. He never leaves the Fram unless it's to Rio to buy food. Those men are coming towards us."   
  
They were, both of them smiling, but they stopped well below the outcrop. "Good climb," one of the said. Then he coughed, and added,"Ladies, you're a little younger than most of the people we see here. How much climbing have you done before?"   
  
It was time to be honest. "Very little," said Nancy. "That was the first thing I have ever led."  
  
"You were doing very well. You were very sensible to take it carefully."   
  
The two men were well-equipped, and their climbing gear looked well-used. Nancy had an idea. She asked, "Is there something a bit more difficult, but not as long, nearby? Where we could practice abseiling?"  
  
One of the men told her, "Yes. You see that line of cracks? That's Yow Crag, harder than Easy Gully, and at the top there's a nice big ledge where you can belay. It's a good place to practice abseiling, but just make sure you use a top rope. Next to the line of cracks is a wall, and you could try that too. It ends at the same stance. Don't forget to use a top rope!"  
  
The other man said, "I think you could do both those climbs, but take care, and use more runners than you did in Easy Gully."  
  
"I take it you've both abseiled before?" the other man asked.  
  
"I have," said Nancy and looked at Titty.  
  
"I have too," said Titty. Nancy wondered when she had. They climbed again. The Yow Crag climb was only two pitches and they took their time. The second pitch to the ledge looked harder.  
  
"I'm going to enjoy having a go at this," said Nancy. They belayed, and Nancy set off. At first it was easy, then the pitch steepened and Nancy made the mistake of looking down. Two moves later, she stuck. She waited, had another go and then had to retire to a more secure stance. Her left leg was trembling; she had another go but got no further. Angrily she climbed down, bothered and cross. "It's no good," she said, "We'll have to go down unless you want a go. Do you?"  
  
"I'd like a try," said Titty quietly. They changed places, and Nancy belayed Titty, who climbed more slowly than Nancy had. Just below the point where Nancy had stuck Titty placed a runner, and then climbed on quietly and slowly. She passed the point where Nancy had come unstuck with a move that was so quick Nancy missed it. On up she went, placing another runner, and she was nearing the top, struggling a bit when she mantleshelfed on to the ledge. There, Titty belayed herself and brought Nancy up.   
  
Nancy had watched almost open-mouthed, wondering where Titty had learned to climb."Where did you learn to climb like that?" she demanded.  
  
"Oh, there's a quarry near home, I've been there several times."   
  
Nancy said no more. You never ever under-estimated a Swallow, she thought, especially Titty.   
  
Titty was thankful Nancy asked no more. In fact her mother had arranged that she and Roger climb with the marine instructors and some marines. The language was a bit salty sometimes, but the Walkers had both enjoyed climbing and Titty had been several times since. It was there she had learned to abseil. Now, Nancy secured the top rope and they abseiled down, with Titty, climbing second, collecting the slings. Once down they had more lemonade and Nancy produced two hunks of Cook's fruit cake.   
  
The two men were there again. One said, "Hey, little lady, you climbed that well. Where did you learn to climb like that? You sounded as if you come from the south."   
  
Titty blushed and said, "In a quarry near home."   
  
He seemed about to ask more, to Titty's dread, but then looked at her and said, "You climb as carefully as that all the time and you'll do well."  
   
After that, the pair left Nancy and Titty alone, going off talking together.  
  
They tried the other climb, but didn't finish it. Nancy in particular was feeling tired, and she said, "Let's make for home."  
  
Once they were off the scree and on the way to the Walna Scar track, Titty asked, "I've told you my news, but you've done all the exciting things. Tell me about yourself?"   
  
With a certain amount of prompting Nancy told Titty about her last day at Cragside hotel, and then about the interview in Newcastle. It opened Titty's eyes to what might go on in a small business, and she asked, "And had Mr Convoy been going to bed with Maureen?"  
  
"No," said Nancy, and added bluntly, "But Mrs Convoy wanted to get rid of him so she could have her boyfriend at the hotel."   
  
Titty decided she didn't want to know any more about that, so she asked, "Tell me about this new job in Newcastle."  
  
"It was just luck I got it. If Mrs Convoy hadn't thrown me out I'd have never known about it. As it was I nearly missed the advert, and then I wouldn't have got the job if I hadn't known my flying instructor. I'm sure he must have put a good word in for me. Then Mr Hughes just happened to know Mr Convoy, who liked me, and that must have clinched it. They did ring Georgie up and of course I do have my pilot licence." Nancy grinned and said, "It shows how important it is to be known. Georgy told me he'd told them I was a wild child and an Amazon pirate, but I don't believe him."  
  
"But it's true," said Titty.   
  
She was surprised when Nancy said crossly, "I'm not, not really, and you know it."   
  
Tactfully, Titty changed the subject and asked, "Do you like living in the North East? How will you manage?"   
  
Nancy told her, "I've been very lucky. The company booked me into a big farm that does bed and breakfast. The couple there have got a room they've used as a store, and they are going to alter it so that I can live there." Nancy went on to ask, "Where will you live if you go to Cambridge?"  
  
Titty said, "I shall be living in college, so it will be like being at school. There are even porters at the entrance who stop people coming in, and report you if you arrive in college late at night."  
  
"I wouldn't like that," Nancy said.  
  
Titty said, "I don't think it will matter much to me. You are there to study, and I suppose that's what I enjoy doing, even if sounds boring. What do you really do when you're at work?"   
  
Nancy gave her an outline of what she had been doing.   
  
Titty said, "It sounds all very difficult to me. I'm sure I couldn't ever do a job like that, or have all that responsibility."  
  
Nancy said defensively, "I don't really have a reputation as a bad girl in the local area. Not like some girls do. But, Titty, calling ourselves pirates was just a bit of fun. Everything's different now we're older. And mother has changed so much. There is one woman, Mrs Grove, who has made friends with mother and is trying to get us to be friendly with her nephews. So she tells mother what we ought to do and then mother tells us. She even tells mother what to say. All the things we used to do - mother won' t hear of them now." Nancy looked away. Then she turned back to Titty and said, "You do exciting things and do not get into trouble. But mother says, if we did things like crossing the North Sea and running at White City, what would people think of us? Things that you've done, we'd get into trouble for doing."   
  
"Oh, all that's nothing really," said Titty.  
  
"Oh no, that's not what I've heard. Just because you're small and quiet people can't imagine what you're really like. How many cross country races did you really win last season?" asked Nancy.  
  
"Six or seven, and the school race that doesn't really count," Titty said.   
  
Titty missed the look Nancy gave her. Nancy was thinking of the way her friend had just drifted up the crag, while Nancy couldn't get up at all. Perhaps tomorrow would be different, Nancy thought. Frustrated, she changed the subject. "My mother was furious with me for getting a job at all, let alone one in Newcastle. And because I would not go out with her to Mrs Grove's for lunch, just to be ogled by her nephews, she threatened not to have me back in the house. That's why I asked you to go to the Jacksons. I bet Mrs Jackson spoils you."   
  
Titty admitted she was being spoiled, thinking of the great slabs of cake and sweet, milky tea Mrs Jackson pressed on her.  
  
"Tomorrow," Nancy announced, "We are going out with Mary Swainson, that was; she's taking us into Langdale. So be ready at 8, like this morning, because I know Mary's an early starter."   
  
That evening, she left Titty at Mrs Jackson's, and went on home. Her mother was quite short with her, making it clear she disliked Nancy having Titty as a friend.   
  
But at Holly Howe Mrs Jackson cut a massive slice of fruit cake and asked, "And where did Miss Nancy take you today?"   
  
Titty told her, and as she had suspected she would, Mrs Jackson knew where they had been.  
  
She went on, "So, Mary's taking you to Langdale tomorrow? That means an early start and you'll come home dead beat, but you'll be in safe hands. Very experienced, Mary and her Jack are."   
  
Titty was sure she hadn't mentioned going with Mary. It never ceased to amaze her how fast news got around the Lakeland community.  
  
Mary was early, and so Nancy had been quite right, it was a quarter to 8 when they collected Titty. Nancy was driving, with Mary in the passenger seat. They had begun climbing by 9, Mary sending Nancy up first while she watched. Then it was Titty's turn, and Mary came up last. She was very careful to check the way they had belayed and the knots.   
  
"If I'm taking you out, I might as well make sure you're doing it right," she told them. "Nancy, I'd use more runners as you climb."  
  
She made them abseil off the outcrop back to the bottom, and watched Titty collect the only runner Nancy had used. Mary told Titty she should be below the runner when she collected it. Titty bit her lip, for this was something the marine instructor criticised too. They immediately started on the next climb which was longer. This time Mary made Titty climb first, and she was careful to use more runners, but when she was only about twenty feet up after she had put on her first runner, and Mary had checked the way Nancy was belayed and handling the rope, Mary looked up and grinned. Then she said, "Stop, and see if you can fall off."   
  
Startled and nervous, Titty slipped away from her holds and was held by the rope. Nancy was surprised what a jolt there was when the rope held her. She had never done anything like that.  
  
"As well to know what it feels like when someone falls," said Mary dryly, "Now you know why I talk about putting on runners. Imagine what it would be like if Titty had fallen a lot further, or if she hadn't put on the runner."   
  
There was no need to say more. Titty continued up climbing, rather slowly, as she had the previous day. Nancy climbed second and, when she was a little way up, Mary told her to fall off too. Again it was instructive, although of course because Titty was keeping the rope fairly tight Nancy did not fall far. Mary had plenty of advice about the way they climbed and stressed the importance of rope work. They were made to abseil back down the climb. As they did, several climbers came up to the crag, but moved on when they saw what was happening. Back at the bottom of the crag Titty and Nancy were surprised to find it was lunch time, and so they got out their sandwiches. Mary wanted to know how John, Susan and Roger were doing. Titty told her John seemed to be making a success of the navy.  
  
"Hard working, brave and conscientious. I can imagine it. Is he doing anything exciting?" Mary asked.  
  
"Yes," Titty told her. "He's brought a boat in Singapore and they're thinking of sailing it home."  
  
Mary said, "That doesn't surprise me either. He'll never be one to sit around, gets it from your Mum and Dad. And young Master Roger?"  
  
"Roger's changed," Titty told her. "He's worked very hard this year, and he's determined to be an engineer. And he's rebuilding a car. He's very proud of it, but mother says oil's much harder to wash out than mud."   
  
Mary had laughed, and again expressed no surprise. She asked, "And what about you?"  
  
Nancy interrupted, "She won't tell you the truth, so I will. She's almost certainly passed her exams with flying colours, all 16 of them, and will go up to Cambridge in the autumn. And as if that wasn't enough she's won just about every long distance race there is for a school girl to win."  
  
"Nancy!" said Titty, "It isn't...."  
  
"You want me to say that isn't true," said Nancy, "But it is."   
  
Mary smiled and patted Titty on the shoulder. She said, "So as a punishment, you can lead the next climb."   
  
She did too. but then Mary said, "This is a much harder climb, and it will test you to the limits of your ability."  
  
They indeed found the climbing hard, and both slipped off the stiffest moves. Since Mary had led and was holding them, apart from a few bruises and scratches no harm was done. Mary was free with her suggestions about how things should be done. Just as Mrs Jackson had said she would, Titty was very tired when Nancy dropped her off just before 6, and she knew her muscles had been stretched and used. Mrs Jackson's other guests ate at six but as Titty was eating with the Jacksons she had time to wash and change before going down into the kitchen. There she was treated with a big mug of tea and a slab of cake again, before going on to Mrs Jackson's dinner.   
  
Mr Jackson had a good laugh over how tired she was, commenting, "Now you know just how tough our Mary is."  
  
Nancy was much later next day. It was nearly 8 45 before her car trundled down the long drive, and she greeted Titty with, "I forgot to tell you Peggy came home yesterday, she needs the morning off but we'll go out in Amazon this morning and pick her up just before lunch. Then we can sail down to Wild Cat Island and have our lunch there." It was clear by Nancy's grin that there was still something of the pirate in Titty's old friend.  
  
Firstly, Nancy took Titty back to Beckfoot where it was clear that Mrs Blackett was away for the day. They went into the kitchen where Titty was treated to what amounted to a second breakfast, before Nancy took her out for a sail. Titty had sailed Amazon before and she was allowed to take the tiller. They went down to Rio where they shopped for Cookie, and then back round Wild Cat Island. They were back at Beckfoot before 12, collecting their lunch from Cook and Peggy, still struggling into her old sailing clothes. Nancy showed she had lost none of her skills as a helmswoman and they soon reached Wild Cat Island. There, Peggy made a fire on the old camping ground, and Titty collected more wood and unearthed the frying pan, plates and mugs. They fried their sandwiches.   
  
When they were drinking their tea Nancy asked, "What's all this about Roger? You hadn't told me anything about that."  
  
"Well," said Titty, "He has changed. They built an engineering and science block at his school, and began to teach subjects like woodwork, technical drawing and engineering. He began to work really hard. Then they made him Captain of the 2nd XV, and he did a good job. The team's doing well in the school league."  
  
Nancy said, "Honest, I'm not like Mary, I just cannot imagine him being like that at all. And what's this about a car?"  
  
"The technical master was given an old car, and Roger and three friends took it apart and are rebuilding it. His friends want to race it and the master helps when they get stuck. Roger has no interest in driving it in a race, but he is interested in the repair work and getting the engine to run properly. They got it to move about 50 yards, and then Roger insisted they took it to bits again. He was sure they could improve it."  
  
"I'd want to race it, what fun," said Nancy.   
  
But Titty went on, "Mummy and Daddy bought him tools for his birthday and at Christmas. Oh, and he scrounged wood from the navy and made me a bookcase for Christmas. It's super."  
  
They hid the frying pan and dishes under some bushes, and sailed through the afternoon. As evening fell, Nancy and Peggy dropped Titty off at the Jackson's boathouse, and sailed back to Beckfoot.  
  
In the morning Titty woke to hear rain drumming on the roof. When she went down to breakfast, Mrs Jackson said, "If Miss Nancy rings, ask her and Miss Peggy if they'd come for a meal with us this evening. About 7, as usual."   
  
Nancy did ring, but said she would like to spend the day working for her commercial licence. Titty passed on Mrs Jackson's invitation, and Nancy told she and Peggy would come to dinner.   
  
When she had rung off Mrs Jackson explained, "I know there is trouble there. Miss Nancy is at odds with her mother over that Mrs Grove and her funny circle. She's a nasty busybody, that woman. Miss Nancy did well to get a job in Newcastle with that flying business."   
  
Titty knew Mrs Jackson was being serious. So she asked Mrs Jackson if it would be cheeky to ask if Mrs Blackett was ill.  
  
Mrs Jackson told her, "Not in the normal sense of the word, lass, but she has always been impressionable and Mrs Grove and her bevy of friends have always been different from most of us round here. Mrs Blackett has been a member of that group too long. She allowed Miss Nancy and Miss Peggy too much rope, and it is to their credit they are not wilder than they are. It will do Miss Nancy good to have a responsible job, and if Miss Peggy goes and works in Ambleside that will be a good idea too."  
  
It went on raining until 3 o'clock, and Titty read and studied. When the sun came out she took her book down to the landing stage and read on, perfectly happy.   
  
Nancy and Peggy arrived quite early that evening. They found Titty in the Jackson's kitchen, and Titty was happy to make them all tea. Peggy wanted to know what John was doing with himself. Titty told her, "John is in the China Seas just now, where his ship is on exercise. He seems to be enjoying himself and doing well in his navy exams. Did Nancy tell you he and two friends have bought a small ketch? They are hoping to sail it back home if they can co-ordinate their leaves."  
  
"Wow, that sounds exciting. What on earth do your parents think of him doing that?" said Peggy.  
  
"Daddy says it's a good job John will be there to provide common sense, Mummy says she doesn't like it because of the dangers, but if she had the chance she would have done the same thing. Mummy and Daddy did a lot of sailing together when they were first married."   
  
Peggy said, "What about all the cups John has won sailing dinghies in Singapore?"  
  
"I don't know anything about that?" said Titty.  
  
"Hasn't he told you? I heard from a friend whose father is in the navy. He has a high opinion of John. He told my friend John had been very successful in his exams and had worked very hard," Peggy told her.  
  
"I knew he had worked hard. He gets me to help him with English," Titty said.  
  
Nancy asked, "Titty, must you go home on Friday?"  
  
She said, "Yes, I really must. I've got to go to a wedding on Saturday. It's a girl only a couple of years older than me, and Mummy think we ought to go. She's not very happy about it herself; they're very posh and snobby. I think the girl has to get married."  
  
"Wow, your mother and father aren't posh, not as posh as Mother in some ways. But they look very distinguished when they're together," said Peggy.   
  
Titty looked oddly at Peggy, but it was Nancy, who spoke "Didn't you know our school has an end of term dance for the girls who are leaving and their parents? Neither mother nor Uncle Jim would go, but your parents turned up at mine and Peggy's. They had arranged it somehow. When it was my turn your father danced with me, he made me feel like a queen. All my friends wanted to know who he was. But it wasn't as good as seeing your mother dance with him. They looked wonderful."  
  
Titty said, "I knew they could dance, but I didn't know they went to your leaving dance."   
  
Peggy said, "Your father danced with me too, and my friends wanted to know who he was. I wish I could dance like your mother."   
  
Titty turned a little pink and said no more.   
  
Over dinner Nancy said, "Since it's your last day tomorrow Peggy and I thought you might like to do Sca Fell. It means an early start, but I'm sure we could do it all right, and we might do Great Gable too."  
  
So Nancy picked Titty up immediately after breakfast, and by 9 o'clock they were on Esk Hause. Apart from a small tent by Angle Tarn nobody was about. It was already a glorious sunny day with a wind to keep them cool. Small white clouds scudded across the azure blue sky. It took about an hour or more of hard walking over big stones to get to the summit of Sca Fell. Cook had given Nancy three big chunks of fruit cake, and they ate them there. The only people on the summit were a man and his wife in their thirties who had come up from Wasdale. Nancy wanted to use the Corridor Route to get to Great Gable, and they had a job to find it, but once on it had a splendid scramble, although they lost the path a couple of times and had to retrace their steps. They had their lunch by Sprinkling Tarn. Then they climbed up the steep winding path of rough stones to the summit of Great Gable, and had some chocolate before they scrambled down. Peggy reckoned going down was as hard as climbing up. By this time they were beginning to tire, and they slowed down. It took them a while to get back up to Esk Hause, but they did it, and scrambled down Rossett Gill and along Mickleden as the sun fell behind the higher fells. By the time they got to Nancy's car it was rather obvious Titty was the fittest of the three.  
  
"It must be all that running," said Nancy ruefully.  
  
Mrs Jackson was ready with tea and more cake for all three of them when they arrived back at Holly Howe to drop Titty off. They sat on the bench in front of the old white farmhouse and ate hungrily. When Nancy and Peggy had gone ,Mrs Jackson commented, "Fair wore Miss Nancy and Miss Peggy out - thought you would from what Mary said."   
  
Titty blushed, but she could not deny it since it was so obviously true. She wondered just what Mary Swainson had said, and again wondered just how these messages were passed round this rather too observant community.  
  
She was ready when Nancy collected her in the morning. Nancy's car was packed and her bicycle, in pieces, was balanced on top of her luggage. She explained,"I had a row with mother last night, and I am going straight back to Newcastle after dropping you off. My mother virtually turned me out unless I would go out with her to Mrs Grove's and join her beastly Circle, and I wasn't doing that."  
  
The Old Station Master himself saw Titty into her seat, and she was glad to be on the train returning to the safety of home. She had plenty to think about, and certainly enough to answer her mother's question about Mrs Blackett. The shadow of Nancy's deteriorating relationship with her mother had hung over the week. Titty found it hard to imagine what it was really like to be Nancy and Peggy. Her own relationship with the best of all natives was so secure. Mrs Jackson had said that Nancy and Peggy had a reputation for being wild, but she detected Mrs Jackson now felt sorry for the Amazons. She wondered what the Walkers as a family were thought of by the Lake District natives. Mary Swainson had wanted to know what they were all doing, and this holiday she had hardly been treated like a guest at all. Mrs Jackson had behaved like an indulgent aunt, and Titty had been thoroughly spoilt all the week. She felt so much better.   
  
At Holly Howe, Mrs Jackson was congratulating herself on sending her guest back to her mother looking very much better than when she had arrived. 


	6. Nancy goes to War

"Nancy," Mrs Blackett told her, "If you don't stop this silly job business then you need not bother coming back here again. I've talked about you with Mrs Grove, and we are adament your place is here, and you ought to be going out with Charlie with a view to marrying him very shortly. Now, what are you going to do, do as I wish or not, yes or no?"  
  
"No, Mother, I am not," said Nancy.  
  
Mrs Blackett said, "Then you're beyond my care and are to fend for yourself, and if you go back to Newcastle that's it."  
  
Nancy said, "Very good, Mother, that's it then."  
  
She packed her car leaving just room for Titty to sit in the front seat, although her friend would have to have her rucksack between her feet and her case on her lap. When she had left Titty she had drove to Hexham, had a second breakfast in a café, and bought two hard covered account books and continued on to Newcastle. Even by her standards it was a rash move and she hoped her mother would relent and write in a week or so. Peggy had not heard the argument, as on the return from their Sca Fell walk she had gone to bed, and was still sleeping when Nancy had left in the morning. Nancy had left a note under her door briefly explaining what had happened.   
  
When she got to the Ackroyd's she had sobered a little. She had a key, so was able to let herself into the farmhouse, and found the Ackroyds were out. It gave her a breathing space. She moved her stuff from the car to her room before they had returned, while working on her bicycle she resolved to tell Mrs Ackroyd about what had happened.  
  
On the Saturday she cycled into work and found the partners working in the shed. They were relieved to see her. It gave Nancy a boost to feel wanted.  
  
"When you are away," Mark told her, "We're going to have a job to maintain your standards. Wwe're still trying to catch up on invoicing."   
  
Nancy had brought the two account books with her and she said, "I thought I would keep a record of the invoices we send out, and each week enter in the back of the book how much we are owed. I'd do the same for bills. Shall I?"  
  
"Yes, definitely," said Mark, "We've had a search in our desks and the other drawers, and we've unearthed some more old invoices after someone rang up and complained they had not been paid. We wondered if it would work if we paid out once a month, and if you made out cheques and we signed them on the last Friday of the month."   
  
Mark passed over to her a handful of very old invoices. "What shall I do with these?"   
  
Nancy said, "Mr Hughes and I decided that any invoice over six months old we would keep but do nothing with, because we were not actually sure if some of them might have been paid. I'll make the cheques out for the end of the month and send them out once you've signed them. Count it as done."  
  
"We'll send our invoices out once a week," said Pete, "And when we have tea, I want to talk to you about something else."   
  
They got down to some routine clerical work, Pete working on the unpaid bills, and Mark writing out invoices. Nancy updated the accounts and then began her new record of the invoices despatched, a record which began from the time she started. She was also working backwards to cover work that went back two to three months.   
  
After they had stopped for tea, and drunk it and eaten some biscuits, Pete said, "Mark and I were talking last night, and we realized since you came here you've stopped training for your commercial licence. So if you agree we'll talk to Ralph about it. We don't think you'll find Ralph as good an instructor as Georgie Boy, but nor will he be as sharp with you either. How about it?"   
  
Nancy asked, "I'd love that, how much will it cost?"  
  
Pete said, "We, or rather the business, will pay for it."  
  
Nancy said, "Gosh, thank you very much."  
  
"That's good," said Pete, "I'll go across and see if Ralph is there. Is there any day you don't want to train?"  
  
"No," said Nancy, "But before you go there is something you ought to know. I've had an almighty row with my mother and she's told me she doesn't want me back."  
  
"Oh, that's not so good. May we know why?" said Mark.  
  
"Yes," said Nancy, "I'd rather you didn't tell everyone. It was about coming here to work. My mother wanted to go out with her and her friends and she was arranging me to marry someone I did not like at all. She goes out with her friends to little dinners and she wanted me to go with her. She didn't want me to have a job at all."  
  
"What does this chap do?" asked Pete.  
  
Nancy answered, "Nothing, as far as I know."  
  
"Look, Nancy," said Pete, and by his tone she knew he was being really serious, "Whatever you do don't marry someone you don't want to. It might be that you think about relenting, though it does not sound as though you will. Just don't. Oh, and may we tell Mr Hughes?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy, "And I thought I would talk to Mrs Ackroyd about it."  
  
Pete told her, "That's a very good idea. Pat's a very sensible caring person, oh and are you alright for money?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy. She made a mental note she ought to ring her trustees about her breach with her mother.   
  
Pete went off to talk to Ralph and came back very short time later. He came back grinning. "Will Monday, Monday morning at 8.30 be alright?"  
  
"Of course," said Nancy.   
  
 "Ralph says that Monday mornings are a slack time for him, so I got a discount," he said.   
  
At lunchtime Mark went to Mrs Rolls to fetch the sandwiches, and once he returned they met together in the main office. Then Pete asked, "Now, before we go back to work again, let's hear about your holiday. Did you have a good time?"  
  
Nancy said, "Yes, I did. I had a great time and did all the things I hoped to do. We climbed alone, and then with an experienced climber who gave lots of good advice, we had a sail and we climbed up Scar Fell."  
  
Pete asked, "How was your little runner friend?"  
  
Nancy said rather indignantly, "How did you know she was a runner, I'm sure never told you that, did I?"   
  
Pete laughed and wrinkled his nose and wagged his finger at her. "Ha, you see I've got my nose everywhere. You told us your friend's name was Titty Walker, and at the time I knew I'd heard the name somewhere. Then Mark's Dad showed me the article."  
  
"What article?" asked Nancy.  
  
Pete told her, "The article in the paper of course, about this senior women's race at White City Stadium in London and how this little school girl came third and shocked all the established runners." He went to the partner's office and brought out a newspaper article torn from a daily paper. "Isn't that your little friend?"   
  
Nancy read through the article quickly and said, "That's her certainly, but she never told me about that, the little minx. All I dragged out of her was she had won lots of school races. Titty Walker, I'll do you. No wonder I had such a job keeping up with you."  
  
Pete said grinning, "I liked the bit about the journalists not being able to interview because they were not allowed on the naval base, and the Commanding Officer came along and told them to shove off. I should have thought you'd be congratulating her. You said she was only sixteen?"  
  
Nancy said, "That's right."  
  
Mark said, "She must be good. Come on, time for more work."  
  
When Nancy got back from work on Saturday she found that the Ackroyds had been out all day, and their children were going to bed early. Joss went off to the farm office, giving Nancy a chance to talk to Mrs Ackroyd about the disagreement between her mother and herself. She proved an excellent listener, and she prompted Nancy to tell her all there was to tell. She was sympathetic rather than horror struck, and went on to say that daughters often fell out with their mothers but it was no easier for that. She approved of Nancy's plan of waiting to see if her mother wrote to her after a short while.  
  
Every Monday morning, as soon as Nancy had ridden in to work, she would change into her flying gear and cycle across to the flying club hanger. As Pete predicted Ralph was not as good a tutor as Georgie, but he was good at his job. He was not as sharply critical of her either, and he placed a little more emphasis on grasping the theory.  
  
After her first flying lesson with Ralph she rang Mr Lisle, who was her contact for her trust fund, and told him how she had fallen out with her mother. The only surprise was that he did not seem shocked, but asked if she needed money, and having been assured she did not that seemed the end of it. He also gave her the name of his partner in case of emergencies, if he was in court. He told her that he would see to it that the trustees would set aside a portion of money that would be available should she need it. Then he asked after Peggy, he seemed to know she had the offer of the Ambleside jobm and asked if her mother would object to that, something that Nancy had not thought about. Nancy rang off, thinking that hopefully she would not need to speak to him for a long time.  
  
She and Mr Hughes did manage over the next couple of weeks to bring some order to the partners' finances and Nancy settled in to a routine. Except on the last Saturday of the month it was no longer necessary for her to go in on Saturdays. She used the time to buy bits and pieces for her new room. The Ackroyds refused to charge her for rent, only her meals, until it was ready. She went to some furniture sales and bought a bookcase, a chest of drawers, and a chair. At an auction she got some cutlery, china and cooking utensils very cheaply. The Ackroyds gave her a bed and provided a gas ring. She bought some bed linen from the Co-op and found it all rather fun. She wrote to Titty and told her off for not telling her about the big race. Nancy made it sound as though she was most offended that Titty had not volunteered the information. The reality was she was very proud of her friend, and the fact she had hit the newspapers. The article made clear that Titty had not enjoyed standing on the rostrum to receive her medal. That, Nancy found easy to imagine.   
  
She also wrote to Peggy, who rang her up at work to say that the postman had given it the letter to her personally. Also Peggy told her that their mother was now demanding Peggy go out with her, and Peggy was refusing to do so. She said the whole village knew what was going on because Mrs Beckett was boasting about it. She added that their mother was going on holiday with Mrs Grove, and therefore there was a chance for them to meet up either at Hexham or Carlisle. Nancy chose Carlisle.   
  
When they met, Peggy brought no good news, only bad, with her. She gave Nancy a small bag of letters, and told her she ought to write to her friends telling them her new address. That sounded very final to Nancy, but she saw the point. Peggy told her Mrs Beckett was threatening to throw Peggy out if she went out to work at the insurance company. But the company wanted her to go permanent. Peggy told Nancy she intended to defy their mother. She intended to stay at home as long as she could but went on, "I've got a let out."  
  
"What or who?" asked Nancy.  
  
"The Jackson's." She went on to tell Nancy that she had met Mrs Jackson in Coniston, and she had taken Peggy back to Holly Howe and given her tea and cake, and talked to her. She had been very kind and ended by telling Peggy to come to her if her mother threw her out. Most of the village, Peggy told Nancy, were on their side. Several of the ladies had tried to persuade their mother to change her mind but she was adamant she would not, and said she wasn't having her girls do anything but what they were told. Nancy suggested she should speak to Mr Lisle, and they tried phoning from a phone box. but got no reply which was not surprising since it was Saturday afternoon.   
  
Nancy spent the next day revising; Ralph tested her each week on some aspect of theory but would never tell her what beforehand. He was telling her it was time for her to take her commercial licence. One morning he kept her longer while he made her do a mock test at which she did well, so with Ralph's help she made out her application for a test.   
  
She settled into the Ackroyd's room and began to enjoy looking after herself. She joined the local hockey club, but said she did not want to be considered for a place in the team for a while. Without Nancy's knowledge Mrs Ackroyd had told the lady who ran the team Nancy was having a rough time.  
  
One day she was working in the office when there was a knock on the door and Commander Walker, in full dress naval uniform, came in. He stayed for a chat, a mug of tea and a biscuit. Mr Hughes looked in but seeing everything was in order disappeared. Commander Walker asked no questions but Nancy volunteered that she had fallen out with her mother and why, to which he just nodded and said he was sorry it had come to that.   
  
As he was leaving he said, "I am posted away from home for a while, but you should know to ring Mary if anything goes wrong" then said cheerio and left.   
  
Nancy watched the tall lanky figure fold himself into a big Vauxhall car, wave and drive off. Not for the first time she wondered what it was like to be a Swallow and have a father like Commander Walker. Titty always called him Daddy, and she always seemed to be doing something with her mother, father or both.   
  
When Mr Hughes came in for lunch he asked, "Who was that, some relative?"  
  
"No," said Nancy, "That was Titty Walker's father, the girl I went on holiday with who runs. He turns up from time to time."   
  
"Ha, the little runner," he Mr Hughes said and nodded to himself.  
  
Nancy took her test for her commercial licence and passed, and very pleased with herself she was. She told Pete she felt she ought to have further tuition with Ralph because she did not know it all. At the partners' suggestion she ferried some spare parts to Glasgow, then to Barrow and had a long chat with Georgie. She flew again to Glasgow and a man met her on the runway and was amazed when he saw she was a woman. Next time he brought his manager who gave her a 5/- tip.   
  
Then next time, the man who brought the part into the office asked if Nancy knew the pilot was a woman.  
  
She said, "Yes, I did actually."  
  
He asked, "It wasn't you, was it?"  
  
Nancy acknowledged, "Yes."  
  
He asked, "Are you taking this?"  
  
Nancy told him, "No, we've a bit to take on to Aberdeen, so Mark's doing it."  
  
Somebody somewhere had talked, because a new customer rang to ask if they could get especially a machine part to Southampton very quickly, and she told him they could. When he asked when it would get there she told him tomorrow after lunch.   
  
"That's good service,", he said, "Heard about your service because you use a young woman pilot. I'll be along."   
  
Within an hour he arrived in a big Bentley with the part. He brought it in and asked, "Are you the lady pilot everyone's talking about?"  
  
"Yes, I am," Nancy acknowledged.  
  
He asked, "Will you be taking this?"  
  
"No," said Nancy, "I'm just the office girl really."  
  
"Not just," he said, "Office girls don't usually fly aeroplanes. It all looks very efficient. I'm impressed."  
  
The next problem was more challenging. Their agent rang, "Nancy, I've got a chap in Newcastle who needs to get to Plymouth asap. I know Pete's in the south and Mark's away. Ccould you do it?"   
  
Nancy thought for a minute took and asked, "We can't do it tomorrow, I suppose?"  
  
He told her, "No, sorry, he wants to go now, this minute. He is waiting for me to call back."  
  
Nancy took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I'll do it." After all, taking a piece of machinery or something was one thing, to fly a passenger was quite another.  
  
The agent then told her, "It's a Dr Duffy, he's an eminent surgeon."   
  
'Gosh,' thought Nancy, 'I'd have said no had I known.' She got into her flying gear and went out, and by that time her passenger had arrived. A small quiet man, he agreed to wear the trench coat and muffler they kept for emergencies and a flying helmet. He admitted he hadn't flown before and she told him it was cold up there. He did not seem in the least fazed to find his pilot was a woman and settled himself in the passenger seat. Nancy was cleared by control and they flew off, the controller wishing her luck on her first flight with someone other than an instructor. She followed the A1 down and then around Nottingham flew south east until she was sure she had picked up the A38. Then it was Bristol and she followed the Severn and passed the Mendips, where she turned south until she reached the south coast. Then she followed the coast until she reached Plymouth. She had called up the airport explaining, and they had told her how to get there and mentioned that her passenger had a big car waiting for him at the end of the runway.   
  
When she landed she could see the car, and she taxied towards it almost as soon as she stopped. Dr Duffy climbed out of the cabin and slid off the wing., He turned and shouted, "See you tomorrow about 8!" and climbed into the car beside the chauffeur.   
  
It was the first time Nancy knew she was to fly him back to Newcastle. She thought, 'We'll have to find some way of listing our jobs, so we all know what we're doing.'  
  
A man emerged from the control building and told her where to take the plane. "The taxi will follow you," he told her, "And then take you to the hotel, where it has been arranged you'll stay the night."   
  
It was the first time Nancy had thought about where she was going to stay, and she was very glad the staff at the airfield seemed to know the procedure. She only had her flying gear, but the hotel knew who she was as soon as she walked through the door, feeling conspicuous in a flying suit and carrying her helmet. They did everything they possibly could to make her short stay comfortable. She arranged for the hotel to have a taxi to take her to the airport in the morning, and to call her in time for breakfast which they told her would be brought to her room. At dinner, they gave her a seat in a corner of the dinning room.   
  
It was only when she came to book out she found her room had been arranged and paid for by Dr Duffy. He appeared just before eight: the return flight was uneventful, and when they reached Newcastle he didn't waste anytime before driving away, but she did manage to thank him.   
  
There was a note from Pete on her desk, 'Well done, Nancy!'.   
  
Two days later there was a rather grand envelope in the post with Dr Duffy's name on the back, addressed to Pete. Nancy eyed it apprehensively. It was the middle of the morning when Pete flew in and walked through the door and picked up his post. Nancy waited, but almost immediately Pete reappeared a stiff piece of paper waving a letter, "Look at this for a testimonial," he shouted, and showed her the letter of thanks and congratulation.   
  
After that they took Dr Duffy to Cardiff once a month on a Thursday, bringing him back Friday afternoon. Nancy kept a change of clothes with her flying gear in the store room.  
  
But her job was not always that enjoyable. As she kept her record of the invoices, one name stood out. It was a Mr Hindley. He used their services regularly, but had not paid them for some time. When Nancy drew Pete's attention to the discrepency, he owed the company £324. She rang him up, pointing out they couldn't afford to be outstanding that amount, and he was very rude to her. Pete was to take him to Birmingham the next day, and when Mr Hindley came in he handed Nancy £200 cash, and told he would pay her more if she was in on Saturday. He said, "I'm sorry I was rude. I must learn not to be rude to young ladies who ring me up for money."   
  
Nancy was somewhat mollified.   
  
After that Mr Hindley paid his invoices regularly, always in cash, and never the amount of the invoice. He was very smart in a brash sort of way and drove a Jaguar car. They would fly him to one place and sometimes on to another after an hour or two, but seldom back to Newcastle. Unlike most of their clients they had no idea what he did, except he seemed to have a number of different businesses. Pete wanted to stop flying him, but Nancy pointed out that since he flew with them regularly now he paid on time his business was good.  
  
Of far greater consequence then was the matter of fuel use. Nancy realised that there was something peculiar about the partners' fuel use, for a start Mark used significantly more fuel than Pete did. But it was apparent that both partners used a lot of fuel. It was by far their biggest regular expense. Each time either of them used fuel they received a separate invoice from the airfield, and Nancy was fairly sure that occasionally this was for more fuel than the tanks of a Gypsy Moth held, but the invoices never showed the amount drawn.   
  
One Saturday morning at tea break time she raised the matter. At first Mark was upset at the accusation that he used more fuel than Pete, but as Nancy went on he became less defensive. Pete rang to find out how it much fuel cost per gallon, and made a note of it. Nancy went away with that figure and spent a week at odd times calculating the fuel used, by dividing the amount charged by the cost per gallon. It was evident something was wrong. If, as happened from time to time to time, any of them filled up at a different airport, the invoice was always substantially less.   
  
Nancy showed her findings to Pete, who next time he filled up asked the bloke to sign a note to say how much he'd drawn, but was told to "piss off". Pete and Mark began to fill up away from Newcastle. One day when Nancy was with the partners one of the senior airport managers walked in on them in a temper. He told them angrily, "If you don't fill up here, then you don't fly from here."  
  
"When will we stop being over charged then?" asked Pete, angry in his turn.  
  
"Don't give me that bloody nonsense! You've got no evidence for that accusation!" said the manager.  
  
Pete said coldly, "Nancy, fetch that report you did, showing the fuel use."   
  
She fetched it, wondering why Pete hadn't used the copy that was in his drawer and included all her rough workings. Besides, supposing she had done it wrongly in some way?   
  
But Pete handed her figures to the manager, commenting, "Take a look at that then, particularly where it shows the comparison between filling up here and filling up elsewhere."  
  
The manager took the report and glanced through it, grunted, and began to read through more carefully. He looked up grimly. "Sorry I lost my rag with you. May I borrow this?" He did not leave as they expected and sat there thinking for a good few minutes, then looked at Nancy and asked, "Did you do this?"  
  
Nancy looked at Pete who nodded, she said, "Yes."  
  
"It's damn thorough." There was another silence. Then he said, "You're sure I can I borrow this?"  
  
"Yes," said Pete.   
  
Another silence and while he made no attempt to leave, then he said grimly, "Have you talked to anyone else on the site about this?"   
  
Pete looked round at them and he said, "No."  
  
"This not good, not good at all. There is nothing to show Nancy did this report, is there? No," he said, answering his own question. "I ask you both and Nancy not to say nothing about it outside this office."  
  
"We won't, nor will Nancy, she's Cumbrian you know," said Pete.  
  
There was a ghost of a grin on the manager's face, "Yes, I did know actually, and she's a damn good pilot they tell me. I'll be off, and I'll be back when I've digested it."  
  
Nancy had blushed.   
  
He went.  
  
Two or three days later when Pete was in the manager phoned and said tersely, "Pete there?"  
  
"Yes," Nancy said.  
  
"Tell him I'm coming over."   
  
Nancy went to warn Pete, but by the time she was going back to her desk the manager strode in, nodded to her and went in to Pete's office. Just before lunch Pete rang, "Nancy, please us get extra sandwiches from Mrs Rolls and some beer from the off licence."   
  
She did, but when she went in there was a grim silence. Pete said "Thanks," and when she left the conversation resumed.   
  
It was well into the afternoon when the manager left. He looked in a better temper, and looked at her roguishly and said, "Goodbye, Miss Blackett, I shall be seeing you again."  
  
Pete rang, "Nancy, has he gone?"   
  
"Yes," said Nancy.  
  
He instructed her, "Wait till he's well clear, and then a further five minutes, and then come in here."   
  
She did.   
  
Pete looked at her for minute and said, "We've, or rather you've, stirred it up this time alright. By the way I've put this afternoon's flight off. I'm doing it tomorrow. When Mark gets back he has got to see that chap. Can you do the Glasgow trip?"  
  
Nancy told him, "Yes, I'll do that."  
  
  
Pete went on, "Right, now listen; we're the thin end of the wedge. I'm sure he did not tell me everything, but there are far people involved than us, though they don't know it everyone yet. This theft has almost certainly been going on for years, and involves goodness knows how much and is now in the hands of the police. Now it's got nasty, so if anything happens, any nasty phone calls or things and I'm not about, you are to phone Mr Hughes straight away. I mean it, do you understand?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy.  
  
Mark flew in, and Nancy left the office in his hands and flew the part to Glasgow. She came straight back to Newcastle. As soon as she flew in. Mark took off. Nothing more happened, but the next day Nancy kept the door locked. But two days later when she rode into work she was sure a car was following her. She rang Mr Hughes, but he wasn't there.  
  
Pete flew in, and as soon as he walked in he asked, "Has anything happened?"   
  
Nancy told him.  
  
"Humph, keep the door locked." he said unhappily. He went into his room and spent some time there, and left for a Southampton job, but as he left he said, "Nancy, you are to go home now."   
  
As she rode home a car followed her closely all the way into the farmyard, and the man in it watched her go to her door. Then he drove off out of the farmyard. But someone else was watching, and almost immediately Mr Ackroyd knocked on her door, "You're not staying here in this room, it's too isolated, I won't have it."  
  
She began, "But, Mr Ackroyd?"   
  
He held up his hand and said, "You stay with us until this is over. But come here first for the time being, and leave from here in the morning."   
  
Nancy collected her things and followed him into the farmhouse. Mrs Ackroyd was waiting for them. "It's happened," Mr Ackroyd said, and went into the farm office.   
  
Mrs Ackroyd said, "You sit here, Nancy, I'm getting you some coffee."   
  
Nancy saw her face in the mirror, it was white, and to her disgust her hands were shaking.   
  
Mrs Ackroyd told her as Mr Ackroyd had, "You are staying here with us until this nasty business is completely over, and that's flat."  
  
"Yes," said Nancy. In spite of being determined not to be, she was scared.   
  
The next morning, despite leaving much earlier, she was followed again and as soon as she was in the shed, she locked the door. Very shortly afterwards there was a knock, and when Nancy went to the side window there was a tall, casually dressed man at the door. He immediately held up a police identity card. Nancy let him in, and had no sooner locked the door when it was opened by Mr Hughes, who came in as well. He too locked the door behind him.  
  
The policeman said to Nancy, "Ha, I'm glad someone's keeping an eye out for you. Hallo David. Now, before I go any further, you are not to open that door unless you know the person on the other side. Also, never leave here in the afternoon or the Ackroyds in the morning at the normal time. These fuel thieves are a bad lot, and seem to have connections across the whole country. That report you wrote has stirred up a hornet's nest, Miss Blackett, and it's a crying shame your name was let slip. Do you know what time you'll leave this afternoon?"  
  
"4.15," Nancy said promptly.  
  
"You must keep to that. Our people will be looking out for you, there will be policemen in a blue Morris and a black Austin, and they're your guards. You've understood all that?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy, "I have."  
  
"Good." The policeman then got out a retyped copy of Nancy's report, and went through it in great detail with her.   
  
Mr Hughes had left and now came back for tea which they had with the policeman.   
  
As he was leaving, the policeman said, "David, could you leave a couple of minutes after Nancy, and drive to the Ackroyd's? Just as a precaution."   
  
Mr Hughes nodded.   
  
"Now, Nancy, you're sure you understand all the instructions. It's really important you stick to 4.15?"  
  
Nancy said, "Yes, I understand."  
  
"Good girl," he said and left.   
  
She did not leave the shed all day, and no one came to the door except Mr Hughes. At 4.15 she left, and as she cycled out the opening of the gate there was a blue Morris parked at the side of the road with a man smoking beside it. She looked at him, and his eyebrow lifted very slightly. At the next turning two cars were waiting and as soon as she passed they pulled out, following her very closely indeed. Nancy tried to speed up, but it did no good. She looked back constantly, for Nancy was really scared. In the car immediately behind the men were laughing. Both the cars behind her followed her up the farm drive, and as she propped her cycle by the wall Mr Ackroyd opened the door.  
  
"In, quick," he said, and slammed the door behind her just as a man reached it.,  
  
"Open up," he yelled and delivered a mighty kick.  
  
But the door was old, thick and heavy, and did not give way. Then there was a howl, and then bedlam broke out the other side of the door. Nancy heard a crunch and then another bigger one, and the sound of fighting.   
  
From the kitchen Mrs Ackroyd shouted, "They're running away," and then, "Oh, wow!" she was laughing.   
  
All of them went into the kitchen just in time to see a man run straight at a herd of cows coming through the gate. He climbed on the first cow hoping, they guessed, to run over their backs but slipped. They saw him fall, and he was just beginning to get up when the Ackroyd's cowman swung his fist. The man sprawled in the muck, and it was just at that moment that the two policemen arrived. They picked him up and dragged him back towards the farmyard.   
  
After a short while there was a knock on the door, and when they opened it there was a tall policeman standing there with a bloody hanfkerchief pressed to his nose. The yard seemed full of cars and there were police standing about all over the place. One of them was tending the man the cowman had hit, who was moaning, and six other men were lying face down with their hands handcuffed behind them. Nancy had had no idea so many people were involved, and she stared at the scene horrified.  
  
"Come in," Mr Ackroyd said to the policeman, and fetched a cold wet cloth.   
  
When his nose had stopped dripping the policeman said mildly, "It wasn't very clever to drive into a farmyard where there was no means of escape except into a herd of cows, and then run hard into each other. I am very sorry about the mess. We didn't expect them to drive into the farmyard. We'll take them away, leave someone to clear up the mess, and I will come back later."  
  
He asked them to prepare a written of statement of all that happened since Nancy had left the shed. Two young constables were left to clear up the mess, and a breakdown lorry came and took the damaged cars away. Nancy's bicycle was now mangled, twisted metal.  
  
It was after dinner before the police came back, and they went through the statements. Then they told Nancy she wasn't to leave the farm unless Mr Hughes or one of the partners collected her, and that they would take her car away and hide it in case someone tampered with it. Nancy slept late before she woke in the morning.   
  
Half way through the morning Pete rang. "I heard," he said, "Are you all right?"   
  
Nancy assured him she was, and he asked, "Are you happy to fly to Cardiff?"  
  
"Yes," she said.  
  
He said, "Right. I'll be round straight away, and perhaps Mrs Ackroyd could provide a mug of tea while I talk over what we propose."  
  
It seemed only a few minutes before he arrived, and he and the Ackoyds sat round with Nancy at the kitchen table with their tea and cake. Pete explained, "The police prefer for your own sake that you should be out of the way for a few days. Dr Duffy wants to go to Cardiff this afternoon; he knows roughly what's gone on. I'd like you to take him. Tomorrow, fly to Bristol and then on to Plymouth with bits, and then back to Cardiff. Stay another night in Cardiff and come back here with Dr Duffy on Friday afternoon."  
  
"I'd like to do that," said Nancy   
  
"Now, is there any chance you could take a holiday for a week, afterwards?" Nancy thought for a few minutes,  
  
She said, "Yes, I should think so."  
  
"Good, I'll take you back now, you can fly to Cardiff. When you get back one us will bring you back here. Will you take your car or go by train?"  
  
Nancy told him, "I'd rather use my car."  
  
Pete went on, "That's fine. Joss, could you take Nancy to the Police Station on Saturday?"  
  
"Yes," Joss Ackroyd told him, "I'll do that."  
  
"What's the fuss about the car?" asked Nancy.  
  
 Pete told her, "The police really are scared someone will tamper with it. They will be very pleased if you can go away and by the time you get back, they should know a lot more."  
  
That is how it worked out. The people at the hotel made a fuss of Nancy. They didn't say they knew anything, but they must have know something. On the Friday morning Nancy rang her mother, who seemed quite pleased at the idea of Nancy coming home for a week. They chatted for while, and Nancy's hopes rose.   
  
There was just one sour note when, just as she was about to ring off, her mother said, "I knew you'd get fed up with living over there."


	7. The Walkers go Sailing

Titty's journey home was uneventful. Through the window, she watched the fells shrink in the distance from her corner seat as the train made its way trundling slowly away to Oxenhome. After Oxenholme, on the main line, the train speeded up and the scenery became less interesting, although she enjoyed looking back over Morecombe Bay. She had intended to read but fell asleep, and when she woke up there was a comfortable looking woman in the opposite corner who was snoozing. Titty went back to her book. At Wolverhampton, she changed to a slow train through to Harwich.

Saturday was taken up with the wedding. None of the Walkers really enjoyed dressing in their best clothes. Roger was always cheerfully careless about what other people thought of him: he went his own way regardless, but always seemed hold the initiative. So it was that whatever trousers he wore they looked like a pair of overalls, but he had the insouciance to carry it off. Titty always felt dowdy and never thought she looked as smart as other girls. At the wedding, Roger soon found other lads to talk to about cars and engines. Titty found a couple of friends with whom to talk about books. 

Afterwards in the brief family inquest they agreed the wedding must have cost a lot of money, but had been a rather stilted affair. 

Titty used Sunday to tidy her books and talk to her mother about Mrs Blackett. Late in the afternoon, her mother took a call from the Commanding Officer of Shotley base, and she was asking lots of questions. When Mrs Walker came off the phone, she told Titty the Commanding Officer wanted her to translate for them. A party of Italians military contractors, only one of whom spoke any English, were visiting. The usual translator had gone sick, and Command were in a fix. The base commander had asked Mrs Walker if he could borrow Titty for the best part of two days to help out, and Titty said that she'd like to try and help if she could. Mary Walker rang the officer and told him yes, but that Titty could only do her best. Thanking both of them, the commanding officer told Titty she was to come to his secretary's office at 10 o'clock. To her mother's surprise, Titty seemed to be looking forward to working with the Italians, although Mrs Walker wondered what the Italians would make of having a schoolgirl to do the translation. 

So Titty presented herself at the Commanding Officers Office at 10 o'clock in a freshly ironed frock ready, as she put it to her mother, to do her bit. 

The CO's secretary came into him and said,

"Titty is really just a schoolgirl, and she's awfully small." 

"I know," he said, "They've been warned, but it's the best we can do, and one of the points of their visit to Britain was to come here. What could I do? It wasn't my idea, it was the Admiral's. I'd like to know how he knew young Titty was good enough. But he'll be here himself tomorrow." 

He looked out the window, "Hell, they've already arrived, here we go. The only thing to remember is that she's Commander Walker's daughter, and she won't want to let her Daddy down."

The Italians had been warned, but nonetheless were rather surprised to find their translator was a small and a rather bashful school girl, not the sour faced male translator who had been with them before the weekend. Titty was dwarfed by the men, but immediately at the introduction won their admiration as she deftly crossed each bridge as she came to it. She had difficulties with some of the technical explanations, but seemed unfazed, and if her translations were not always exactly accurate or in naval parlance they understood one another very well. Her words caused a few laughs, but everyone was very good humoured. 

By the afternoon the Italians deliberately set out to stump her, but they failed, and Titty was the first to be delighted. By the end of the day Titty was tired, but she was ready again at nine next morning, looking rather less fragile than the Italians after a wardroom dinner. The Admiral was there. Just after lunch the Naval visitors were due to be taken to the station, so Titty's task was at an end. 

The CO and the Admiral stood in the former's office and watched her walk briskly away. The Admiral commented, "I thought she would come up trumps, but I didn't expect her to pull it off with quite that degree of panache. Ted would be pleased as punch."

The Base Commanding Officer said, "What a performance. I would have never believed it. Once she had a job to do all that shyness disappeared. Who gave you the idea, may I know?"

The Admiral said, "It was Dow, who knew her because of her running. He spoke to the school. I gather her cross-country running is outstanding, Dow was suggesting national standard."

His subordinate said, "We knew that, we had to shoo the journalists away after the White City race. By the way, I gather from Molly Walker that Miss Walker's French and her German are just as good as her Italian, if not better."

The Admiral said with a laugh, "Translation problems at Shotley are over then. Seriously, I don't see why we shouldn't use her again."

The Base Commander said, "What have I let her in for?"

The Admiral said, "Nothing I'd say that was beyond her by today's performance. And just how good a runner is she?"

The Base Commander said, "I don't really know, but I've been told she won every school girl cross country race in the south of England." 

The Admiral nodded and said, "I must go, not stand here chatting." 

The Commander saw him to his car.

Titty set about helping her mother prepare for provisioning the Goblin at the end of the week. They got together the food, her mother's navigational instruments, and a couple of books about the East coast rivers: there were more above the chart table in the Goblin. Roger was bringing a friend, Phil, from school for the first few days. They would have the forward cabin, and with Bridget and Mrs Walker taking the bunks, Titty was on the bottom boards. Their plan was simple. On the first day they would sail into the Stour and anchor near Manningtree. The next day, they would sail the Goblin into Walton Backwaters and then, wind and tide allowing, sail down to Maldon at the western end of the Blackwater, where they would collect Commander Walker. After that anything might happen, you never knew with Daddy. 

They went aboard on Friday afternoon, Titty's mother parking the loaded car at Pin Mill near Mrs Powell's cottage, from where they would load the Goblin. Arriving just after Mrs Walker, Titty, and Bridget, Roger and his friend would check that the Goblin's Billy engine was working properly. There was little need as Roger had continued to help Jim Brading, their friend and owner of the Goblin, maintain the engine in good nick, but Roger's friend was as mechanically minded as himself. There might be just time for a short sail before dinner, and in fact there was, quite a brisk sail with a good wind, just long enough to get them all into practice. When they got back to the Goblin's buoy the little hard was busy with sailors down for the weekend. 

They woke to a glorious blue sky and bright sun, but a light wind. 

Away before the majority of weekend sailors, the Walkers sailed up beyond Ipswich and then back to Harwich, where they anchored just below the base for lunch. Afterwards, they circuited the warships anchored off the spit. The sailors, familiar with the little ship and her crew, waved, for it was well known that Walkers of Shotley borrowed and sailed the Goblin quite regularly and she was therefore known to the crews. Then, under the critical eye of the naval crews lining the rails, they sailed away up the Stour, all of them having a turn at the tiller in the light wind. Even Roger's friend had a turn, even though he had never been on a sailing boat before, let alone sailed one. There was plenty to see, for the river was busy with holiday sailors and there were two Thames Barges, 'stackies', Roger called them, making their stately progress towards the sea piled high with hay out of Manningtree. 

They sailed on down, passed the two towers, and then returned to anchor in a little bay, where they moored for the night. There they ate their evening meal in the cockpit, enjoying the silence of the river.

They woke to a rather grey day, and there was a stronger wind. Again they were under sail quite early, but made slow time tacking out to the Beach End buoy against an on shore wind, and had to go a fair way out to sea before turning for the Walton Backwaters. Once out to sea they went further than necessary, making the most of an exhilarating wind and having their lunch under sail, before making back, south west, to the Backwaters. 

After lunch the sun had come out, and they passed a colony of seals basking on the sands that formed the point. There was less wind in the shelter of the land, and they cruised slowly by Peewit Island and then round to anchor off their old camp site on Swallow Island. There they went ashore to find someone else had used the site, but the remnants of Susan's old fire place were still visible. The Swallows had spent a happy holiday mapping the island and adjoining creeks, and Titty's finished map still hung in the dining room at home. Although they looked across towards the site of the Mastodon's old hulk, no smoke was rising above the marsh, and they knew anyway he was away. The Mastodon, Daisy, Dee and Dumb, all were friends of that holiday, in what they had dubbed the Secret Waters. But before the Walkers had come to live at Shotley, Daisy and the twins had moved away with their parents, and the Lapwing their big cruiser had been sold. 

The next day, they got under way before breakfast to sail out to sea again and down the coast to the Blackwater. Blue sky and a comfortable wind made easy and undemanding sailing conditions, and again they all had a go at the tiller. But Mrs Walker was anxious to make Maldon before the tide began to run out. She kept her crew busy keeping the sails adjusted. Down they went sailed down past the crowded beach at Walton with its pier, and then Frinton and the martello tower, looking out for the square shape of the little chapel stuck out on the end of the Dengie. Roger showed his friend how to identify their position with a top hat drawn lightly on his mother's chart. 

At last they turned into the Blackwater, and with a fair wind sailed down the wide river with its farmland and little villages where the men were often away crewing the big racing yachts of the rich and famous. All had connexions with sea; fishing and dredging. With the wind coming from aft Mrs Walker revelled in keeping the Goblin surging through the water. At last Maldon church came into view, and the wind fell away a little as they turned to slip past the smacks lined up on the shore, and the barges at the hard, and beyond there was a quay where a small boat could moor for a small fee. And there, standing on the quay, was a tall spare man with the lined weathered face of someone who spent most of his days in the open air irrespective of the weather. 

Mrs Walker had made the most of the wind down the river. She was now determined to make her landfall perfectly under the eyes of her watching husband. She sailed past him, and then turned the Goblin to lay her gently along the quayside just below him. Her younger children had been well aware how important it was to her to handle the Goblin well. In fact she was a better helmsman than her husband. He jumped down and swung her into his arms to give her a kiss, their eyes met and they burst into ringing laughter.

"Perfect, just as you intended," he said and laughed again. 

An old seaman, who had been talking to Commander Walker looked on indulgently down at them. "I haven't seen a seen a ship under sail put alongside here as expertly as that in a long time," he said. 

Commander Walker greeted his children and shook hands with Roger's friend Phil. 

But Mrs Walker said, "Come on, there is just time to get Phil to the station to catch the earlier train." 

The family and Phil scrambled ashore and made for the railway station, and Phil caught the train. Mrs Walker rang his mother to give her the time to meet her son off the train. Then none of the Walkers demurred when Commander Walker suggested drinks and a bun from one of the little cafes in the old main street of the little town. On the way, they bought more provisions, since the open air had given the Goblin's crew good appetites and the stores they had put aboard at Pan Mill were seriously depleted. Loaded with supplies they walked down the hill and paused at the quay to admire the big barges discharging their smelly cargo. A fisherman was selling sea bass on the quay and Mrs Walker bought five to feed her hungry crew. The old sailor was still there so they invited down into the cabin for tea. Roger and Titty took him for a tour of the Goblin and he admired her   
repectfully. "A little ship like this could be sailed across the North Sea," he said.

"We did," said Roger.

"You?" he asked.

"Well, with our elder brother and sister." Titty remembered that desperate voyage, after they had promised their mother not to go to sea. Then they had done so by mistake and in a fog, there had been the storm and John sailing alone, and she had had one of her bad heads. Then, in Holland, they had met Daddy after he had seen them from the ferry and made a last minute jump to the quay. "It was all a mistake," she said, "We slipped the anchor off Shotley, and drifted out to sea in the fog." 

The old sailor nodded. He seemed to divine that for Titty at least it had been a frightening experience. Then he pulled a big pocket watch from his pocket, "Best be going," he said, "Skipper'll be calling time." 

They had their sea bass, peas, and potatoes, followed by bread, jam and cheese sitting in the cockpit in the evening sun. After the washing up was done Titty with a book sat on the cabin roof. Roger, who had graduated from a penny whistle to a flute, fetched it from the cabin and Bridget found her mandolin, and they began to play. The music drifted across the marshes opposite and back again. 

"Daddy," Titty asked, "Do you think John will sail his ketch home to England?"

"Yes I do," said her father, "They've had that boat surveyed again and now the engine has been taken out, overhauled, and put back, and John has been working on the rigging. And they've had her out in some rough weather and she has behaved very well. They'll have to co-ordinate their leaves which will not be easy, but some officers in the navy are quite keen on the idea of smal boat sailing and think it teaches young officers self reliance. But I do think John's navigational skills and common sense will be needed. They hope to start around Christmas time, or maybe a little later."

"Mummy, do you still wish he wasn't doing it?" asked Bridget.

"Yes, of course I do," said Mrs Walker, "But had I had the chance I'd have loved to do the same, so who am I to complain? Far better than sailing a dinghy round Sydney harbour, though I didn't grumble about that." 

Bridget and Roger continued their duet, switching easily from folk songs to more classical pieces and back again. A young man and his girlfriend came down to the quay and sat on the bulk of timber where the old sailor man had sat, listening to the music. 

Titty asked her father suddenly, "Daddy, you said there might be a war in Europe against Germany again. Did you mean it?"

"Why do you ask?" asked her father.

Titty said, "Because you and John are going to be in the China Seas, and John will be sailing home first. I had a conversation with Nancy and Peggy, and Nancy said she thought it was rubbish. I think she thought it would interfere with her flying. But Peggy said she'd read about it in the newspaper."

Her father said, "Well, that is a poser on a pleasant summer evening."

Titty said, "I'm sorry, Daddy."

But Commander Walker said, "Don't be, any of you. Firstly, don't imagine this war will start tomorrow, or next year, or the year after. For one thing the Germans and Hitler are not ready yet. And Japan has a war with China on its hands. So if you asked me when, then I'd hazard a guess it will be in three or four year's time. I wish Nancy was right and the idea of war was rubbish, or maybe we'll avert it, but I don't think we will."

"Three or four years seems an awfully long time." said Bridget, who was gently strumming her mandolin although Roger had stopped playing his flute. 

"But I thought Japan was a backward country?" asked Roger

His father went on, "The Japanese have a well trained and well disciplined army and courageous soldiers, and they have brave pilots, although they have yet to produce a really effective and reliable aeroplane. But they could give us plenty of trouble, and they have plenty of experience, too, which we don't. Their navy has some good ships and aircraft carriers to ferry their aeroplanes to the islands and our possessions in the Pacific. Because Japan lacks natural resources they need their empire and they are willing to fight for it. They are currently getting combat experience in China, and I think they will dispute mastery of the Pacific with the Americans, and to a lesser extent ourselves. Their politicians are ambitious, and they are devoted to the supremacy of their Emperor who occupies a completely different relationship with his people than our constitutional monarchs. Backward they may be in our politician's eyes, but the Japanese are formidable." 

Bridget asked, "And what about Germany?"

"When the last war ended the Treaty of Versailles was not the cleverest of agreements to end a war. The Germans felt cheated, because they had to pay a huge and unrealistic sum in reparations, and they considered the war had ended due to war weariness, rather than their defeat. They were admitted to the League of Nations and then played fast and loose with conditions set out in the terms of the Versailles treaty, and will do so again, I believe. Then came the collapse of world economies, which occurred because so many businesses were overvalued by investors, so financing collapsed. In Germany the effect was that there was rip-roaring inflation, and the peoples' savings were wiped out. You must have learned about this in school, Roger?" Commander Walker asked.

"Yes," said Roger.

"No," Bridget said. "That's next year."

Commander Walker nodded, and said, "That caused resentment among the rich and middle classes, but it also provided a means to reduce the real time reparation payments. Naturally, this gave rise to further resentment, because Germany didn't think the recession was her fault. The Americans with their vast resources were better at taking practical steps to end the recession than we were, or any of the European countries. But in Germany they found a leader who promised them the earth and they have fallen for it. They voted Hitler into power, but now any opposition is not tolerated and people who oppose him disappear, or are murdered. Hitler is flouting the spirit if not the terms of the peace treaty, so he builds civilian aircraft that could be bombers and naval ships that are powerful and would be effective but are technically within the terms of the treaty, I think. He has just taken Germany out of the League of Nations. Germany is also building submarines. I know less about them than John, who argues we should be doing more to counter that threat. He is not making himself very popular in some quarters because he is so outspoken about his views. But I agree with him that we are sitting idly by and complacently doing practically nothing about what Hitler's actions. Unless we change, we shall find ourselves at war without the means to defend ouselves."

Beneath the quiet tones and their father's easy measured manner of speaking, Commander Walker was seething with anger. He went on, "I am all for maintaining peace, but this refusal to accept reality combined with the craven acceptance of Hitler's ambitions is stupid. I hate to talk about it like this, but you are all old enough to understand what's going on in the world. I hope that Nancy's optimism that talk of war is all rubbish is right, but I think she is wrong." Commander Walker paused, and his voice changed. "Roger, get me the binoculars, they're on the chart table. I think that's a bittern I can see. If it is, it's jolly rare." 

It was a bittern. The conversation changed to marsh birds, but soon Commander Walker said, "Lights out in ten minutes, we need to make an early start."

Titty had taken Phil's place in the fore cabin and Bridget was sharing her mother's bunk. Titty thought she would never fall asleep thinking of her father's talk. What would it mean for her family with both her father and John at sea in the navy? She trusted her father's judgement explicitly, it seemed to make so much more sense than Nancy's optimism. 

That was as far as Titty got, and next thing she knew was her father's call to rouse his crew. Dawn was just breaking and the primus was roaring, and soon dressed the Walkers had a cup of tea as they cast off and got under way as soon as there was just enough water at the quay to allow it. Two barges followed them out into the main river, their big brown sails hardly moving. Once in the main river, away the foreshore, the Goblin slipped through the water with just enough wind to create way and create a ripple on the flat surface of the river. Another brown sailed barge came out from Salcote to join the procession. They slipped past the Blackwater villages: Marylandsea, Goldhanger, Blackwell, and the Tollesbury channels. 

It was a wonderfully peaceful morning that they would remember in the years to come. The only noise was the creak of Goblin's gear and the murmur of the sea at her forefoot. Mrs Walker and Titty brought up breakfast and they all ate in silence, enjoying the magical peace of the early summer morning. As the river widened and the land warmed, the wind freshened. It was a spectacularly lovely morning. The Goblin gathered more speed, and there was now an audible murmur from her bow as she cut through the water. Mersea Island came up and was passed, and then they were out to sea. It was time for Titty and Roger in turn, under their father's supervision, to learn more about navigation as they steered the Goblin beyond the sandbanks, rather than hug the coast as they had done on their way south. It was chilly, and they all wore heavy sweaters and woolly hats. 

The wind freshened and the Goblin gathered speed heeling to the wind. The magic of the silence gave way to the sound of the water rushing past the leeside as the Goblin gathered speed, and navigation was done on the sloping chart table. Then with Titty at the tiller, Commander Walker told them of a plan he had formed on the train to Maldon the previous day. "If this wind holds," he said, "Then we should be able to make up as far as the Deben, and then cross the bar and sail up to Woodbridge. None of his crew had yet sailed up the Deben because crossing the bar was a challenge, and the tide had to be high in order to cross it safely. "More exciting," Commander Walker said with a grin, "Than sailing back into the Walton Backwaters." 

With the wind behind them and the Goblin trimmed, Titty who asked, "Why has John ruffled some people up the wrong way?" 

Their father sighed, "John has established for himself in the navy while in the east. He won dinghy races in Singapore, and I'm told he became the man to beat. He did very well in the last set of exams, too, and in doing all this he has established a reputation for himself in the Navy. Which he doesn't much like, of course." Commander Walker felt no need in the presence of his family to hide his pride in his sailor son. "Then he wrote a report about what an enemy could do if they had a fleet of submarines, especially if they attacked merchant ships. It was that report which set the cat among the pigeons."

"I knew about Singapore, because Peggy knew. She had been told by a friend whose father is in the navy. And I knew about his exams because I've helped him with his English," said Titty.

"You did?" said her mother. 

Her father grinned, "So it was you, was it? Someone asked me who had been helping John with his English!"

"Does it matter?" asked Titty.

"Of course not, I'm delighted," said her father.

"What about my English?" asked Roger.

"You, your English is good enough for an engineer," Titty said.

Roger laughed.

"Did you have anything to do with that report he did about submarines?" asked her father.

There was silence, and then Titty said, "Yes, I suggested he altered some of it and wrote it a bit differently."

Her father said, "Have you read it then?"

"Yes," said Titty slowly. "But I wouldn't tell anyone except you that, you know that, Daddy

"Well, it was indeed that report that caused the ruffled feathers," said Commander Walker. "There are many senior people who think that submarines are no threat against surface ships at all. John thinks that submarines will hide beneath the sea, and provided they can get into position pick off ships at will as they did in the last war with Germany. He also believes they will decimate our merchant fleet, and thereby starve us out were there to be a war with Germany. Those who oppose him think Germany would never attack unarmed merchant ships, but neither John, nor I, nor others, think that. The point of that is that since we import most of our food and much of our armaments we could be starved into submission. John said in his report, as Titty knows, that we should be developing means of detecting submarines, and indeed I have some some proposals. Top secret," said Commander Walker, and tapped the side of his nose. "The trouble is that technological development means spending money, and many of my bosses want to spend the Navy budget money building big battleships. But John's report doesn't end there, he wrote that we should be practising finding and destroying submarines which will cost more money, and more time at sea. John's report was," Commander Walker said, looking at Titty, "All the more effective because, as one very senior officer told me, it was so bloody well written people had to take notice of it." 

Titty blushed, but her father gave her an affectionate squeeze. 

"What do you think, Daddy?" Roger asked.

"I really don't know. As I said, these really are things that John has thought about far more than me. Certainly I don't know the best way to defend merchant ships from attack. In the first war we used a convoy system. I was given John's report by someone else, and I read it, and certainly it convinced me we haven't an effective means of locating and attacking submerged enemy submarines. That should be a matter of great concern." 

"But, Daddy, if ships are bunched together in convoy," said Bridget, "Don't they present a better target when they are found?"

"You would think so, wouldn't you, but they have to be found, and a convoy is easier to defend," said Commander Walker. "In the last war submarines picked off lone ships on the shipping routes with impunity."

Bridget said, "Well, I think it's all very gloomy. Why can't they make music instead?"

Titty said, "Can the German command send messages to submarines to instruct them where to go? I mean, where the convoys are?"

Her father told her, "Yes I think they can. But those messages would be in code." 

Roger said, "Like the messages we sent by semaphore." 

Titty was still thinking about submarines and sending messages, "So if we go to war, we will need to break the German code in order to read the messages that are being sent to their submarines, so we know where they are going?"

Her father said, "I'm not sure if we can intercept the messages yet."

Titty said, "Oh." Then she added, "It all sounds very interesting."

Her father looked at her, and she at him, "Dangerous work being a code breaker," he said, and then, "Look. We're a bit early, and we've almost reached the entrance to the Deben. It would be better to wait till the very top of the tide so that we don't sail into trouble. What if we jig about a bit and have something to eat, and then we'll sail gently down the Deben and have dinner super late when we get to Woodbridge."

They had hot drinks all round and bread and cheese, and then slipped over the bar without a problem just after the tide turned. They had the engine running just in case of emergences, and were followed by two other yachts who rather obviously waited for them to cross first, but Goblin's keel passed easily over the bar. The wind fell away a little once they got into the Deben river, and they sailed quietly along. Another yacht passed them with its engine powering it noisily along, but the yachts that had followed them seemed content to trail the Goblin under sail. 

As they sailed, Roger got out his flute again and Bridget her mandolin, and they began to play softly as they had the night before. The crews on the other yachts were listening and after one piece they applauded. Encouraged, the younger Walkers played on, and got more applause. Titty steered and her parents talked softly. The music wafted across the water and the sea murmured under the Goblin's forefoot, the ropes creaked, and birds called to one another across the marshes as the sun fell in behind the trees. Then the evening chill crept up on them and they put on the sweaters they had discarded earlier in the day. Roger changed to sea shanties, and they all sang. There was no hurry to dock, but at last they sighted the familiar tall mill buildings and arrived quietly to tie up at one of the quays at Woodbridge. After a last louder couple of sea shanties the musicians put their instruments away. 

Commander Walker said to no one particular, "Better music than conversations about war." 

No one disagreed with him. Their supper, eaten in the cockpit, was quite substantial, and the captain and his crew were hungry and tired. Soon after, the washing up was done. They talked about John's planned trip from Singapore and what might be the highs and lows of such a voyage. Bridget and Titty were yawning, and it wasn't long before the crew were fast asleep.

There was no hurry in the morning, and they rose late to a dull drear day but still breakfasted in the cockpit. Then they sailed up the river a little way enjoying the rural scenery through which they passed, before coming about to sail down river, anchoring for lunch to wait on the tide. Afterwards, Roger, delighted, started the Goblin's Billy engine to cross the bar under power as early as was safe. The day remained overcast, a cold blustery day, and they sailed into the Orwell and down into the Stour, anchoring just below the base. 

The next day they woke to drizzly rain and little wind. There seemed no good reason to sail on up the Stour again, and they had had some excellent days and wonderful sailing, so the Walkers sailed slowly back to Pin Mill and moored to Goblin's big black buoy. Back in their home port, they washed Goblin down and packed, and lunched in the little cabin. There was no reason to stay around and Jim would be arriving that evening, so they left him what little food that was left. 

When they arrived home Mrs Walker picked up the post and passed Titty, smiling encouragingly, two envelopes. Titty took up them upstairs to her room in silence, but minutes later there was a shriek of joy and she came tumbling down stairs all smiles. 

Titty would be going to Cambridge just as she had so desparately wanted to do. The truth was that only person who was surprised at her success was herself. She was kissed by her mother, hugged by her father and kissed by Roger and Bridget. Roger was not self conscious about hugging his sister, for he had known as much as any of them just how much Titty had wanted to go to Cambridge. Then Titty rushed up stairs to write to John. There was now every reason to plan for her future at Cambridge. 

There were also just two days before Commander Walker sailed for the China Seas. 

Titty was so pleased that all her results had come before Commander Walker went east. Meanwhile, Roger had cornered his father and asked if he could spare time for a walk to discuss some ideas. Afterwards, Commander Walker had gone off to receive some last minute orders, and he only returned in time for a late lunch. After lunch Commander Walker made a phone call, and told Roger he had secured the use of a shed on the dockyard where his son could work on his car. 

Mary and Ted Walker agreed that their youngest daughter should attend music school if possible. An instructor of the marines collared Commander Walker with a surprising request. At dinner he was still chuckling about it, but refused to reveal the cause to his wife until they were alone. Though not as tickled as her husband, she was both surprised and amused. The instructor had had conversations with the Base Commander and other senior officers before he rang Commander Walker. 

There was a last celebratory meal, and then the next day the Walkers saw Commander Walker off on to the Harwich to Flushing ferry, on the first leg of his long journey east. It was a sad day, as they were not likely to see him again for eighteen months at least. Supper was a glum affair. 

The next day the Base Commander rang to ask if Titty could translate for some French naval personnel who were visiting the next week. What he did not tell her was that it was the Admiral who had suggested Titty should be asked, commenting, "Those Italians were still talking about little Miss Walker, who translated so well for us. The fact is, Bob, to have a girl like that is an asset not to be squandered. My spies tell me she's got into Cambridge."

So early next week Titty was again reporting to the Base Officer's secretary. She looked at this little girl and wondered how it was such a small, seemingly shy girl, ,so unlike the hearty sailers and marines she dealt with on a daily basis, could cope so well with the task of translating for senior officers of the British and foreign navies. Yet she had just typed a memorandum to the marines training office, giving permission for a most unusual arrangement. She tried to imagine how Miss Walker would fit the proposal that she should join the marines on training runs. But the secretary said nothing of this to Titty, only directing her to the room where the party of French engineers waited.

Titty, having translated for the Italians, knew what to expect, and she enjoyed the next two days immensely even if she was foxed once or twice. The difficulties of translating in such company where the participants were wholly professional and deeply concerned was an intellectual challenge in which she revelled. Only one of them seemed put out by the translator being no more than a school girl. And Titty wasn't to know the Base Commander was now thoroughly confident of her ability to do the job. He had made it very plain to his guests that anyone making salacious remarks would answer to him. There was a good deal of good natured laughter at some of Titty's use of words to translate some of the technical niceties. On the second day when the Admiral arrived, even he was awed by her poise and confidence, but Titty herself had been glad when the day ended and she was allowed to go home. 

As she left the offices, the marine instructor who lived a few doors down fell into step with her. He made a proposal that she could hardly believe. When Titty realised it was true, that she was being offered the chance to go on real training runs with the marines, she was overwelmed. She said she would ask her mother. 

What the instructor did not tell her was that it was a suggestion that had come from the marines themselves. Three of them had been in the stands at White City stadium when Titty had come third in the senior race, and had recognised her. They had hatched the plan with the agreement of their mates, and put it to the instructor, which was how Titty came to train with Shotley marines. They told him it would raise the stakes if Titty could be persuaded to join them. It helped that, despite being often away at school, Titty was a familiar figure around the base, and the marines knew it was something of a challenge to keep up with her even walking down the road. 

When she trained with them the marines quickly found she never blanched when the language was a bit fruity, and overall the proposal was a great success. No marine wanted to be outpaced by a girl, although they soon found only the faster of them could keep up with her when she got the bit between her teeth. And they didn't mess about when she was around, there was something about her odd dignity and grey eyes that commanded respect. 

The Walkers went to watch at some of the competetions between bases and found the events great fun. In one cross country race, when it was the Shotley lads who trounced the opposition, they were being ragged because they had a schoolgirl mascot: their captain said rather heatedly, "We've just trounced you partly because of that little lass. Had she been running today, I reckon she'd have beaten us all." 

Their opponants still jeered, so they were challenged to come on a training session at Shotley, and over country it was Titty who was nearly always in front. 

So it was that when Rosalind Blackwell rang to ask if Titty would like to run in a three mile race at Colchester, she said she would. Rosalind warned her it was a strong field, and she was not to expect too much of herself. 

When it came to the race, with two miles to go Titty was with a group of four who were leading. Had Titty known it, she was now running in fairly select company, Ros and another tall girl from a running club in London, and a very experienced girl from Manchester, with Titty tracking along in fourth place. The leading girl suddenly dropped back, and Titty hung on to the others, grimly aware she was running faster than she had done in her life. Another girl dropped back, and Titty followed Ros as she broke for the finish. Ros went faster, but still Titty hung on and finished a few yards behind her. When Ros finished and turned to see who was behind her she found Titty, bent double gasping for breath. 

"Titty," she asked, breathless and laughing, "What are you doing here?" 

The girl who was third arrived, and asked immediately, "Ros, who is this girl who has come from nowhere to give us such a run?" 

With her arm round Titty's heaving shoulders Ros said, "This is Titty Walker, the girl who was third at White City, here to challenge the established order." 

The girl said without an hint of rancour, "Jolly well done, Titty!"

Mrs Walker and Roger had gone with Titty to the race, but there were also a contingent of burly young men to cheer her on, and all of them were at the winning tape.They only had to wait around a few minutes for the medal ceremony and Titty got a huge cheer. She managed better than the previous time. 

In the changing rooms Ros asked, "I knew Roger from last time, and your mother because you look alike, but who were the bunch of heavy lads who obviously know you?" 

Titty said shyly, "Oh, they're marines from the base where I live. I train with them now."

"You what?" exclaimed Ros.

"They invited me to train with them. They are men I see around the base every day, and they got their instructor to ask me if I'd like too." Titty told her.

Ros said, "I though marines were a rough lot, but listening the way they were cheering you on I'd better revise my opinions."

Titty said, "Oh no, the language is a bit rough sometimes especially if I beat them, but they are very nice to me. After all I pass two of them every time I go in and out of the base, and see the rest about all the time." 

Ros said, "I guess they must be nice. Now, are you coming up to Cambridge? Do we have to look out for you? You'll have to come training with us, but I somehow doubt if it will be like training with marines." 

And they both laughed. 

Titty said, "Yes. I passed my exams so I shall be coming to Cambridge. I'm looking forward to it like anything." 

A couple of days later, Ros wrote again to her friend Pamela, 'You remember I wrote to you about Titty Walker after White City. I rang her up, and suggested she ran in the Colchester 3. Well I can report she's the real thing, and in that company she ran in a couple of yards behind me. She's coming up to Cambridge, I got you know who to look her up; she's coming up to do languages and had the highest marks this year. I've told her she's got to come and train with us. Look for the smallest, shyest, girl with a great mass of curly brown hair and a pixie face, it will be Titty. You can't miss her. Now get this, there were a bunch of heavies shouting for her - and wait for it - she lives on the Shotley naval base and trains with the marines!' 

Meanwhile, Titty went home to prepare for Cambridge, and train with the marines. She kept on going to watch when they were competing against other marines. Bridget began to apply to music schools. One day, Roger's car arrived and was pushed into the shed his father had borrowed. Most days Roger could be found working on it, and various interested Naval engineers turned up to have a look and help him. At the start of term, it was collected and taken back to school. There, when the school field had been cleared of boys, the car was driven round it several times, while Roger made a list of things he wanted to do over the coming term.

After Roger went beack to school, but before the Cambridge term started, Titty had day translating for a visiting Frenchman. When in London, he had asked if his translator was to be the schoolgirl. When asked how he knew this might be the case, he said his colleagues had come back and told everyone about a pretty little school girl who translated at Shotley. "The message I was given," he said, "was that she was very quiet and shy, but an excellent worker." 

Titty's reputation, it seemed, was spreading.

Mrs Walker pointed out to Titty she would have to buy some clothes. Her mother told her, "You cannot wear your old school uniform, and you'll be expected to go to college dinners. I expect there will be parties, too, and you'll need a dress for the May Ball." 

It brought Titty up sharp, for suddenly it dawned on her she was entering the world of grown-ups, natives, in fact. Going to Cambridge meant facing up to new and not altogether welcome responsibilities. 

Titt had never really enjoyed having to buying clothes, it was a nuisance, and she never liked it. She would get cross and hide herself by becoming dreamy. But this time there was no escape. After several visits, one to Ipswich and another to Colchester, Titty was nearly reduced to tears. Eventually her mother took her to her own dressmaker, and there Titty found a sympathetic ear. Between the dressmaker and her mother they chose her clothes and, despite the Titty's initial disinterest, she grew more co-operative and did not hide in a onset of vague disinterest and dreaminess. Tailored clothes cost Mrs Walker more money than she had expected, but she resigned herself to the fact that if she was going to clothe her moody but clever daughter it was a price she would have to pay. Eventually, Titty came away with some sensible working clothes and smarter dresses and court shoes, as well as a new pair of sensible stout shoes. 

In new clothes, Titty did as she had promised to do and went to see Mrs Mountheard. She had a moan about how going to Cambridge seemed to demand much more than study, but got scant sympathy. She got praise for how she had worked at school, her academic successes, and for how well she had done in athletics. But she was lectured on her responsibility to grow up and become adult, and how she was not to hide from realities in studying and running. Mrs Mountford told her, "You could rely upon our smallness and your shyness, but you would give a far better account of yourself if you made a determined effort to grow up. You should set up your mind to enter the adult world, and prove you can fulfil your full potential. You've got the common sense as will as the ability to make a success of university social life, as well as study." 

So when she got home Titty was determined to do just that. Mother and daughter took several long walks round the peninsular, discussing how she could best behave; going to Cambridge was not just a matter of studying. 

Dressed in her new clothes, Mary Walker thought that in the smart outfits her daughter had suddenly grown up and looked stunningly attractive. She wrote to her husband, 'After much heart searching, I took Titty to Mrs Beattie, and eventually Titty brought some clothes. You taxed me with whether we would have man trouble, and I said she wouldn't. But dressed up she looked several years older, and in my prejudiced opinion she looked very attractive.' 

Suddenly Titty felt as though she was prepared for Cambridge. She double-checked the programme to study she'd undertaken during the summer break. What would Cambridge really be like, she wondered. 

She was about to find out.


	8. Nancy leaves home

Nancy arrived back at Beckfoot for her week's holiday and was welcomed by her mother who, it became immediately evident, was showing a certain coolness towards Peggy. But things did seem to have improved since she had last rejected Nancy. Her mother was going out that evening, but had ordered cook to prepare a sumptuous meal for her daughters, who enjoyed it while they got themselves up to date with each others' news. Nancy's account of the fraudsters was far more dramatic than Peggy's news. She told Peggy all that had occurred, commenting that it was the first time she could really remember being thoroughly scared.  
  
"What will happen now?" asked Peggy.  
  
"I don't know. Presumably there will be a trial and I shall have to give evidence. I'm not looking forward to that one bit, though the police have promised Pete that they will be easy on me on account of the investigation I did. When the trial will be, I really have no idea. When I left, they did not seem totally sure that they knew everybody who was involved."  
  
Peggy commented, "Mr and Mrs Ackroyd seem to have been pretty sporting."  
  
Nancy told her, "They have over this and lots of other things. They could hardly have been more helpful in providing me with a room, and you must come to see me and stay. In fact Mrs Ackroyd has already suggested it. What about you? Mother seems to be pretty cool with you?"  
  
Peggy replied, "Oh, she's cross because like you I won't go out to dinners with her. I refused to go because I just can't face being so bored. I've been several times in the past and I won't go again. Not ever. I even went to Mrs Grove's once and that was enough. She left me with one of her nephews and he started hanky panky straight away so I smacked him in the face and kicked his shins and got up and walked home. Mother was furious."  
  
"Golly shiver my timbers, you didn't? What a bust up. Did you kick him in the shins really hard?"  
  
Peggy said, "I jolly well did, as hard as I could. He yelped. Mother said I had exaggerated everything and he was a nice young man. She has been chilly with me ever since, telling me I must have been wrong - especially when I stumped her by saying I was having nothing more to do with the wretch. What has really got up her nose is that I announced I've got a job with that insurance company in Ambleside. I go there nearly every day now and they say they want me to go full time from September."  
  
"They do?" asked Nancy.  
  
"Aye, aye, Captain. Moreover, they want me to start a proper job in September. I think tonight's meal was a softly, softly effort by mother. I bet we have a bust up this week sometime. By the way, the natives in the village are on our side. They don't like Mrs Grove any more than you and I do."  
  
"What will be the outcome do you think?" asked Nancy, stumped for once.  
  
"Co-operate with mother or else, I suspect. She thinks you've come to beg forgiveness and will never go back to Newcastle again," Peggy said grimly.  
  
"She doesn't really think I'm going to give up my job, does she?" Nancy asked, "Do you?"  
  
Peggy said, "Certainly, she does."  
  
"Do you really think it's come to that? I never gave her inkling that that was what I was going to do," said Nancy.  
  
Peggy told her, "You may not have said it, but I'm telling you that is what she really thinks. It's one of the reasons she has had you back. She thinks that you'll persuade me to give up my job."  
  
Nancy said, "Is that honestly what you believe she's thinking? No, I just can't get she can be thinking that I'll come home for good. Gosh, but hey, I'm supposed to be captain of this ship and you the crew, but you've got a lot tougher about mother than I've ever been."  
  
"What I haven't told you is that I went to Rio one Saturday morning, and met Uncle Jim by chance."  
  
"Well, what of it? He's no longer Captain Flint," Nancy said.  
  
Peggy said, "Oh no! Well, you know we thought he was a recluse and all that?"  
  
"Yes," said Nancy.  
  
"Well it isn't true," Peggy told her. "Yes, he does spend most of his time on the houseboat writing, but he must visit Rio more often than I thought for he is obviously well known there. Well, listen to this. When I spoke to him he told me the reason he left Beckfoot is that he had a bust up with mother because she tried to make him marry Mrs Grove, and he wasn't having any. She told him either he did or he could get out and stay clear of Beckfoot. He also pointed out that I had forgotten that Beckfoot isn't mother's house."  
  
Nancy said, "I didn't know that? Who does it belong to?"  
  
Peggy said, "It is owned by our trust, but mother has the right to live there for her lifetime."   
  
Nancy went on roughly, "Well, why didn't Uncle Jim tell us he had been thrown out, the rotter? And why didn't he tell us the bit about mother putting pressure on him to marry Mrs Grove?"   
  
Peggy said, "He said that we were mother's daughters, and he ought not to interfere and should stay out of it. It should be up to us what we do, because we, and you in particular, are pirate enough to steer our own course. I thought about it, and I can see his point of view."  
  
Nancy said grimly, "I'm not sure that I can. I thought he would be a fellow pirate."  
  
But Peggy said, "Maybe he was being a bit native, but we have got to grow up. He said things were up to us. He knows all about your bust up at Cragside which is easy, as everybody does, but he seems to know something about your partners, and he said something that made me think he may have had contact with Commander Walker."  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
Peggy said, "Don't really know. I just got that impression."  
  
 "What do we do?" asked Nancy.  
  
"I don't know," said Peggy.   
  
"I'm sorry, this time I haven't a plan. I can't take it all in. How did mother get to this pass?" asked Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "You remember Mrs Wright?"  
  
"How could I not. She never was like other natives," admitted Nancy.  
  
Peggy told her, "Well, we met in the village and she took me back one day and talked to me. Apparently, Mrs Grove has always had someone about who she can dominate and picked on mother, who has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Mrs Wright thinks mother was feeling a bit down because we intended to go out to work, while she was never allowed to do that. She knew why Captain Flint went to live on the Fram, and told me that this Circle is the mad idea of some chap and there are similar circles across the country. Apparently members get points for recruiting new members, so to recruit us would be points for mother and Mrs Grove. They are both convinced this chap's 100% genuine. Those two nephews of hers are members, too. But Mrs Wright thinks he's a con man. She thinks mother is putting us in an impossible position. I have thought about it, and if mother gives us an ultimatum this week, and I think she will, we go!"  
  
Nancy said, "That's all very well for me, but what about you?"  
  
It suddenly seemed Peggy was in command, "Well, there are other things I haven't told you. The first is that mother's going out all day on Tuesday with the Grove lady to plan our weddings! At least that's according to Mrs Buckle. Then Mrs Jackson said she would put me up if it came to it. Then there is Mr Richardson of the Grange, you know, the insurance man? He's transferring to Kendal and would like me to act as his secretary for a bit. If I did that, they'd pay me an allowance for living away from home. Mr Richardson wants me to do insurance exams for no other reason than he seems to like me. I can't make up my mind if they know what's going on with mother."  
  
"You don't think this Richardson bloke wants you as his girlfriend?" asked Nancy.  
  
Peggy told her sharply, "Goodness no. He is happily married with a baby and is rather straight laced into the bargain."  
  
"So you would have to go and live in Kendal?" asked Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "Yes, I would."   
  
"I thought I was the one who had annoyed mother. Now it seems she has alienated you more than me," said Nancy.  
  
"So it seems," said Peggy.  
  
"You really mean you would go to Kendal?" asked Nancy, surprised.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How?"  
  
Peggy said grumpily, "Mother kicks us out, you go to Newcastle, and I go to Ambleside or Kendal, and if I go to Kendal, they'll give me a living allowance. More importantly for me, I'll be well clear of Beckfoot."  
  
Nancy said, "Golly, when did you become so bloody minded?"  
  
Peggy surprised her. She said vehemently, "I've had two months at home, I've been badgered most days, I've been once to Mrs Grove's and once to one of their Circle meetings and I want nothing more to do with either the Grove beast or that silly Circle. I've had enough. Oh, yes, and when you join you are expected to hand them £50 for being a member and then 10/- a month. Mother's being paying them for over a year, now."  
  
Nancy fell silent; this was a new Peggy. She could scarcely believe it. Quite suddenly Nancy realized that Peggy had been interested in insurance for a some time and had now decided to make some sort of a career in it. Nancy had thought of insurance as a rather stodgy career.   
  
Peggy changed the subject and suggested, "Tomorrow, let's take Amazon to Wild Cat Island and have our dinner and tea there, and talk over the practical steps we need to take."  
  
Nancy asked, "Will mother be away all day?"  
  
Peggy said, "Yes, but I'm willing to bet we are told we ought to go with her."  
  
"Never. I can't believe it." said Nancy.  
  
Their mother came in and they had an evening drink together. Almost immediately Mrs Blackett said, "I shall go to church first thing, and then we'll all go to lunch to Mrs Grove's. We'll all go to the Circle meeting and afterwards we'll go back to dinner with Mrs Grove, and plan all the lovely things we're going to do during the rest of the week."  
  
Nancy said, "If you're planning that we should go to Mrs Grove's and the Circle you can forget it; we're going to take Amazon to Wild Cat Island."  
  
Mrs Blackett said, "But I've already told Mrs Grove you'll be coming. Are you going to meet those dreadful Walker children?"  
  
Peggy told her, "No, the Walkers are not here."  
  
Mrs Blackett said, "Well, I shall be most offended if you don't come with me tomorrow and then come out next week. We would have to plan our week without you being there."   
  
"Well don't plan anything for us; we won't be there," said Peggy.  
  
"We'll see about that," said Mrs Blackett.  
  
That evening they told Cook what they intended to do and she packed them a large bag of food. In the morning they sailed away to Wild Cat Island before Mrs Blackett was about, glad to be away from home. Peggy put an old exercise book and a pencil in the bag. There was plenty to do on Wild Cat Island, but at lunch Peggy got out the exercise book. They began a list of all the things they would each need to do, were their mother to throw them out.  
  
Peggy began, "I suppose I really got stuck in after I had that talk with Mrs Wright. We had coffee together and a large slice of her cake."  
  
"Lucky pig, but go on," said Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "It was her, and then Mrs Jackson, who made me face up to the fact that mother might throw us out. It is because Mrs Grove makes total commitment a condition of being friends with her, and the family members of the Circle comply with whatever she wants. Apparently it nearly happened with the Wrights, but Mrs Wright threw out Mrs Grove instead, and now Mrs G doesn't have anything to do with her. She cuts Mrs Wright dead whenever she sees her. Apparently the entire village knows what's going on."  
  
"Why has mother got it in for the Walkers?" Nancy asked.  
  
Peggy said, "Because they do things. Things in the open air, like sailing and walking and the climbing you did with Titty. I had a letter from Titty about how they sailed the Goblin down the East coast to Maldon and back. I made a mistake and told mother, and got a lecture about how unladylike it was to do such things, and how she did not want us to have anything more to do with them. How rough they were, and how we had wars and they had stolen Uncle Jim's first book. She wouldn't believe it when I said they hadn't, because Mrs Grove had said they did. You see Mrs Grove doesn't want us to have anything to do with the Walkers, because she knows she could never control them since they don't live in the district."  
  
Nancy said heatedly, "That woman! I wish I could hang her from the yard arm. You mean that Mrs Grove wants to order us about like she does mother. I can't believe mother has changed so much. She used to let us go camping, go off with the Walkers, and connived with us to outwit the Great Aunt."  
  
Peggy said shortly, "You're not the only one who'd like to hang Mrs Grove, I'd keel haul her first. More painful, and we're not the only ones who think like that. And I think that that second illness changed mother. Then she met Mrs Grove, who persuaded her that as we were growing up, we ought to behave like young ladies. Remember Mrs G. was on the look out for wives for those nephews of hers. We met the bill."  
  
"Let's change the subject," said Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "All right, read this."   
  
It was a cutting from an athletics magazine. Nancy read it, folded it up, and gave it back to Peggy. She said, "Well, Titty never wrote to me a whisper about that."   
  
Peggy said, "Come on, captain, this fuel theft business has led to you losing your grip. She wouldn't, would she? I liked the bit, 'a small elfin figure running lightly after her tall rivals' I bet she never wrote about 'winning every girls' cross country race worth winning.' Did she?"  
  
Nancy said, puzzled, "I did get her to admit she'd won some races when we last met."   
  
Peggy said, "Nor did she tell you she got distinctions at Highers in every subject she took, and has won a scholarship to Cambridge. I suspect that means a lot more to her than any athletic success."  
  
"I don't see why it should, but no, I didn't know. How do you?" said Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "It was in the paper. You remember Pippa Donaldson?"  
  
"The girl whose parents knew the Walkers?" asked Nancy.  
  
Peggy went on, "Yes. Well Pippa wrote to me. Mr Donaldson, who's in the navy, had been out to Singapore and while he was there the young navy chaps had a series of dinghy races. John won four, and was second and third in the others. Mr Donaldson, who takes some impressing, was impressed. He knew John had bought a ketch and was intending to sail her home. You see what I mean; the Walkers do things. Fancy parents letting their children do things like that and encouraging them." Peggy said the last sentence with a raised eyebrow and an ironic tone.  
  
"I've often wondered what it would be like to be a Swallow," said Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "You are becoming reflective. Where's the all action captain of Amazon? Remember there's another side. I remember hearing Mrs Walker telling Titty off, Titty, mind you, for not being polite to a waitress, and Roger was for ever in trouble for being impolite. They were expected to give 110%. Do you remember how upset John was when he thought we weren't going to complete mapping Walton Backwaters, and how pleased Commander Walker was when they'd done it, and how he knew instantly it was Titty who'd drawn the map they did? But that was what was expected of them."  
  
"Mother couldn't helm the Goblin down the East coast," said Nancy.  
  
Peggy said, "No, but Mrs Walker did. Fancy putting the Goblin alongside a quay with Commander Walker watching, can you imagine it? And Mother wouldn't have minded what results we got in our exams, but the Walkers would - lots."   
  
Nancy said, "You know, I still can't imagine Titty winning those races."  
  
Peggy said, "I can - and hating the prize giving."  
  
Nancy said, "It's strange how shy she and John really are. Come on, we better stir our stumps and plan just what's going to happen."   
  
They did. There were long lists of what they needed to take and what they needed to do. The lists scared them a bit. Nancy was taken aback by the fact that Peggy had already worked out how much, or rather how little, she could live on.  
  
"I know," said Nancy, "Let's go and see Captain Flint."  
  
Captain Flint was typing on the afterdeck and seemed unsurprised to see them, but quite happy they'd come. He was very up to date with all that was going on and was pleased they had started to plan.   
  
"I made it quite clear," he told them, "I wasn't going to get involved with that woman."  
  
He was sure that if they did not go along with what she wanted, their mother would ask them to leave. He also told them that their mother would follow whatever Mrs Grove told her.  
  
He said suddenly, "If your mother turns you out, and Nancy goes across to Newcastle and Peggy to Kendal, what are you going to do with Amazon?"   
  
They looked at each other. Nancy said, "We hadn't thought."  
  
Captain Flint had suggestions to make, "Well she could be brought here, but I wouldn't use her. Shall I ask the boat builder if he would look after her?"  
  
"Yes, please." they said together.  
  
He went on, "He might keep her, and he might hire her out to folks and pay you a bit, but keep a bit for himself to keep her in good nick."  
  
"That's fine," said Nancy, a little reluctantly. "But do you really think mother will turn us out?"  
  
"Yes, I do. Sadly, your mother's totally under Mrs Grove's thumb; Molly will do whatever she's told by Mrs Grove. I'm so glad my brother-in-law had the good sense to tie Beckfoot and the money up, so that she only had the income and the use of Beckfoot while she lives. Although I know what the sums involved in your trusts are, I'm not telling you yet. It's not my business to tell you that. You need to understand that when your mother was so ill it changed her. She lost a lot of self-confidence, and she had never been very confident in the first place, but covered that very well by chatting all the time. Then along came Mrs Grove, who had just lost control of a Mrs Robinson, and latches on to your mother. I didn't see it coming and frankly neither of you understood how vulnerable your mother was. Next thing we knew Mrs Grove had got her exactly where she wanted her. Don't forget she was scheming to find girls for her nephews so your mother was a heaven sent opportunity. Fortunately you have both been sufficiently strong minded not to fall into the trap. Good for you both."   
  
Nancy asked, "Peggy mentioned that Beckfoot isn't mother's?"  
  
He told them, "No, very technically it belongs to you, but it is held in trust for you along with the various inheritances you've had, like the money from the Great Aunt. Sammy Lisle knows all about it. He's the solicitor in Kendal. You know all that anyway, because of your car."   
  
Soon afterwards they sailed away to Wild Cat Island and had their tea. Their mother came home late, and did not say much when she arrived.  
  
In the morning over breakfast their worst fears were fulfilled when Mrs Blackett asked, "Did you go to Wild Cat Island?"  
  
"Yes," said Peggy.  
  
"Did you meet those Walker children?" their mother asked.  
  
"No, we didn't; they are not about. We told you yesterday," said Nancy.  
  
"That's good. I don't want you to have anything more to do with them ever again," said Mrs Blackett.  
  
"Why?" asked Peggy.  
  
Mrs Blackett pronounced, "They are a bad influence on you. They are not respectable children at all. They led you astray. Mrs Grove says so, and she's right."  
  
"Oh but-" began Nancy.  
  
But Mrs Blackett went on, "No buts, now this afternoon you will both come with me to Mrs Grove and we shall be-"  
  
It was Peggy who began, "But Mother we-"  
  
"No buts," Mrs Blackett said, "Tomorrow you two scaramouches are to come with me and go out with Mrs Grove and her two lovely nephews. Then on Thursday we, all six of us, will be going to Cartmel and we'll stay over the weekend and go out with Mrs Grove's nephews. We'll have a lovely time together." She nodded sharply.  
  
"Mother, we are doing nothing of the sort," Nancy said.  
Peggy said firmly, "We're not coming with you today, Mother. Not today nor any other day if you're seeing Mrs Grove or going to that Circle thing."  
  
Mrs Blackett said, "Then if you are not going to do as I say, after Wednesday night I want nothing more to do with either of you, and you needn't think you can stay on here at Beckfoot either. I had to deal with your Uncle Jim; he was foolish, and look where he's ended up. So let's have no more of this nonsense, shall we? I've allowed you far too much rope in the past, letting you go off with those awful Walker children. When you last stayed, Nancy, someone saw one of them here while I was away for the day. And then I'm told you went off rock climbing, which is something only rough people do. Mrs Grove told me all about it, and how you went off with Mary Swainson, too. All that has come to an end for good. I'm not having that again. And Mrs Grove told me that Titty had got her name in the papers; something about some running race. It just shows how unladylike she is. A proper young lady would never run in competitions, especially if she considered her spiritual welfare. Now you are coming with me today and you are going to stop all this naughty behaviour."  
  
Nancy said firmly, "Very well. We'll not be here after Wednesday. I don't care a hang what Mrs Grove says. She hasn't asked me and I want nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with Mrs Grove. It's your choice; it's either us or Mrs Grove."  
  
"Nancy, what a thing to say to me. Mrs Grove is the finest friend and most spiritual person I've ever known."  
  
"I'm with Nancy all the way," said Peggy.  
  
"Then I have to be firm with you. Either come with me today or be gone by Wednesday night. You'll have come to your senses and thought better of your foolishness by Wednesday," Mrs Blackett said firmly. "I'm certainly not giving up Mrs Grove, and you two are going to join us."   
  
"We'll be gone by Wednesday," said Nancy.  
  
"You've nowhere to go, you silly girls." But she said it to the her daughter's backs as they left the breakfast table.   
  
Peggy had to go in to work on Tuesday. Nancy had yet another go at her room, jettisoning all manner of stuff and piling it up to throw out. While she was doing this Cook came in, bringing with two more of Captain Flint's old holdalls with the comment, "You'll be needing these, Miss Nancy, I never thought to see your mother get in such a taking, with that Mrs Grove, to do this."   
  
She was obviously going to say more, but the phone rang, It was Peggy, asking if Nancy could take her to Kendal to see Mr Wilkinson, who was Mr Richardson's boss. So Nancy collected her from Ambleside. On the way Peggy told her she had been asked by her office supervisor how she was getting on, and she had spilled the beans, and become confused because she was so angry, and because of all that had gone on. The upshot was that the bosses conferred; they must have made several telephone calls because Peggy was asked if Nancy could take her to Kendal to see Mr Wilkinson. She had rung Nancy, and here they were on the way to Kendal. They agreed that Nancy would be outside the insurance company's offices at 12 o'clock so that she would be ready whenever Peggy had finished. Nancy went off into town and went to the Council Offices and got a list of accommodation, and rashly made an appointment to see somewhere at 12.30.   
  
Just after 12 Peggy emerged with a wad of papers in her hand. They were able to keep the appointment to see the rented room, but neither of them liked it since it was rather dingy and not very clean. Instead they found a little café on the edge of town and had a sandwich, a rock cake and a mug of tea. Peggy explained what happened. Mr Richardson had recently been appointed to the job in Kendal and knew Peggy from her time at the company the previous summer. His job did not warrant a fully fledged secretary, but he needed someone who could take shorthand and type and keep figures in shape and they were confident that Peggy could do all that, since she had done secretarial studies at school. It suited the company, and, if Peggy wanted to, she could do the Insurance Institute's exams. He had sent her to a lady who had talked to her about her relationship with her mother. Peggy thought she did not believe her; she asked if there was anyone she could ring. Peggy gave her Mrs Arkwright's, and Mrs Jackson's names. Peggy was sent off to the canteen for a bit. When the lady collected her she was much more sympathetic, and gave her a list of lodgings.   
  
Peggy told Nancy she did not want to live outside Kendal, as she wanted to be able to walk both to work and to the college. They rang up two more places from the list Peggy had been given, and went to see them. One was let by a man they didn't like, and the other was rather grimy. This wasn't fun, and Peggy was almost dismayed. But they rang up two more places and got appointments. One room seemed all right, it was very clean and let by an elderly, rather fussy lady.   
  
The second was in a rather old house in a back street. The door was opened by a much younger woman, who took them up two flights of stairs to a large room right in the roof of the house. It had some plain furniture in it that included an old but comfortable chair, and there was a gas ring. It looked and smelt spotlessly clean, and had a carpet and not just lino. The lady, Mrs Pound, said her husband was a builder and she had a job for four days a week at the local hospital. Peggy explained she was to work for an insurance company, but Mrs Pound asked if she had a reference, which Peggy didn't have. Mrs Pound then asked if there was anyone she could ring. Peggy asked if she could ring first. She spoke to the lady who had given her the list and handed the lady the phone while they went outside. Peggy, who had earlier been so downhearted, became very enthusiastic about the room. They went back and knocked on the door and Mrs Pound opened it with a smile of welcome.  
  
"Yes." she said, "I'm quite satisfied and I understand you can't talk about your personal circumstances. Do you want to see the room again?"  
  
Peggy said, "Yes, please."  
  
They went up to the room and had a longer look round, and Peggy agreed with Mrs Pound that they would bring in some of Peggy's belongings the next evening. Peggy asked if she could bring her bike, and they were taken out the back of the house and shown the back lane. There was a yard where it was evident Mr Pound kept some of his building materials and a big shed where Mrs Pound said Peggy could keep her bicycle. The girls went home and had a very late meal; their mother had gone out to play cards.   
  
Nancy went to see Mrs Arkwright and then Mrs Jackson, who told her she could store stuff in one of their barns. She went home and got a load of her own and Peggy's things which Mr Jackson helped her store away. Mrs Jackson agreed to put them up that Wednesday night until Friday, which would be Peggy's last day at the Ambleside office. She was let off early so they were not too late at Mrs Pound's house, and they met Mr Pound, who seemed all right. Peggy and Nancy made a list of things she would need.   
  
They were no sooner home than Mrs Blackett started on them.  
  
"You will both have come to your senses by now, just as Mrs Grove said you would, and are coming with us tomorrow. We're going to Cartmel and the hotel is very smart indeed. You'll have a double room. Peggy can write to that insurance company and tell them she will not be coming again, and you, Nancy, will not be going back to Newcastle. Mrs Grove is coming tonight to sort out the final arrangements."  
  
Nancy said, "Mother we are having nothing to do with Mrs Grove, nor are we coming with you to Cartmel."   
  
Peggy said, "I'm certainly not giving up my job."  
  
Nancy said, "I'm certainly not giving up mine either. And we are not going to see Mrs Grove either tonight nor any other time. Are we, Peggy?"  
  
"No, and Mother, we don't think that Mrs Grove is doing you any good and it would be far better if you stopped being friendly with her."  
  
"That's nonsense," exclaimed Mrs Blackett. "Mrs Grove is best friend I've ever had. She will make it very clear you must come to Cartmel. If you refuse you are to go tonight and you'll never be welcome under this roof again. Is that clearly understood? Now I'm sure you are going to be sensible girls and give up these silly jobs you've got and start behaving like proper young ladies."  
  
"No, Mother. Peggy and I will leave just as soon as we've packed," Nancy said.  
  
Mrs Blackett said triumphantly, "But it will take you far too long to make arrangements tonight, so you'll have to come to Cartmel and so that settles that. Anyway, you decide to come with us. I'm off to see Mrs Grove."  
  
Nancy said, "It will take us about five minutes to pack and leave."  
  
As they were packing Peggy said, "Where are we going now? We'll tell Mrs Arkwright first and then Mrs Jackson's. She said she would keep a double room for us tonight in case there was an emergency; and she told me there might be one. How she knew I don't know and we won't ask unless she tells us. I don't think she will."  
  
Mrs Jackson was not surprised to see them both, and learning they had not had an evening meal she cooked and gave them one. She told them that Mrs Grove had talked loudly in a café about how they were going to trap Nancy and Peggy into going to Cartmel. She had said, "That will settle those bad Blackett girls for once and for all."  
  
When Mrs Blackett got home on late on Wednesday evening she found neither Nancy nor Peggy in the house, and most of their belongings seemed to have disappeared. She went down to the boathouse and found that Amazon was gone, and assumed the girls had gone camping on Wild Cat Island. But when she came back from the boathouse she found an envelope behind the clock in the lounge; inside was a single piece of paper. On it were Nancy's Newcastle address and Peggy's temporary address, the Post Office in Kendal. Mrs Blackett was furious with her daughters. She had been sure they would be coming with her the next day to Cartmel. In fact she and Mrs Grove had arranged for the six of them, including her nephews, to stay until Sunday morning at an expensive hotel. Instead, she had to ring Mrs Grove, telling her that she was sure the girls would be back by Thursday morning.   
  
They were not.   
  
Before Peggy left the Jackson's on Thursday morning Nancy suggested she should buy the utensils and bookshelf Peggy wanted for her new room, but Peggy turned the offer down saying she wanted to buy her own.   
  
Nancy went to the boat builder and agreed with him about caring for Amazon and he took her across to Beckfoot, where she had hidden Amazon in the reeds. She sailed down the lake and on a whim called on Captain Flint. He was there and gave her lunch, and they had a long talk about what had happened. He told her he would always be there for them should they need it. In the afternoon Nancy sailed off to the Rio boatyard with the Rio post office address from where Captain Flint collected his post two or three times a week. In an emergency, he told her, she should phone the boat builder who was a close friend of his. He told her that the story of what was happening at Beckfoot was already spreading among the community.  
  
Later Nancy returned back to Beckfoot with her car and packed it with the rest of Peggy's gear and her bicycle tied to the roof.   
  
On Friday morning they had a long talk with Mrs Jackson about all that had happened to them. Mr and Mrs Jackson had rummaged around in the back of a barn and provided Peggy with some china and a couple of saucepans that would meet her needs for the time being.   
  
The firm allowed Peggy to finish early and Nancy took her back to Kendal in time to do a little shopping. They did no more, and decided that since her employers had told Peggy to take Saturday off, she would use it to establish herself in Kendal. Nancy would help Peggy to get herself sorted out, but would stay each night at the Jackson's.   
  
They went again to Kendal on Saturday morning, when Peggy bought the bits and pieces needed to start her independent life there. Nancy had arranged that they would go and see Mr Lisle, the solicitor who administered their trust fund. He sat them down, provided them with biscuits and coffee and explained the details of their trust funds. Mr Lisle asked them to tell him what had happened. They did so, while he took a note of all they told him. They had a long discussion with him which they both found very useful. He explained that the trusts would be held until they were thirty years old. There were two separate trusts, one each. The trustees were able to grant them a regular allowance and occasional single payments should they have a large purchase to make. He told them that he would arrange for a sum of £100 to be deposited in their bank accounts as a cushion. He suggested that at some time in the future they should come and talk to him about the investments that had been made by the trustees. Nancy asked about Beckfoot, and Mr Lisle explained it much as Captain Flint had done. Asked if there was any other way he could help, Nancy told him briefly about the incident with the fuel fraudsters. His comment was that she should take care to answer the questions as straightforwardly as possible. But he did take a note of the policeman's name with whom Nancy had had most to do.   
  
They went back to Mrs Pound's room and carried in all Peggy's belongings. Nancy drove back to the Jackson's and collected the belongings she had cached there earlier in the week.   
  
Shortly after they left Mr Lisle had a phone call from Mrs Blackett's solicitor, saying that he had been instructed by her to close down the sisters' trust funds and transfer the freehold of Beckfoot to herself. He said he would write to Mr Lisle outlining Mrs Blackett's demand and suggested they then met formally to discuss it, commenting resignedly that he knew she had no legal grounds for demanding the alteration. But, he said, Mrs Blackett was unlikely to let the matter rest.   
  
Nancy drove back to Newcastle to find a long letter from her mother. She told of how she had a bonfire of all the belongings Nancy and Peggy had left behind. Nancy thought grimly that it would not have been a very big bonfire. Her mother went on to say how angry she was with them both. Mrs Grove was also cross with them for not going to Cartmel. The letter said that if they rang up and said sorry, they could return home so long as they gave up their jobs and joined her dinner circuit and the Circle. She would let bygones be bygones. They would have to apologise to Mrs Grove. If they chose not to do so, she didn't want anything to do with them whatsoever, and she would ensure that they would never receive anything from their trust funds. When they realized just how foolish they had been and had come to their senses they might be allowed home.   
  
It all sounded terribly final, and Nancy suddenly had a few misgivings trying to think of a way of settling things with their mother without being drawn into Mrs Grove's circle. Nancy wrote a note to Mr Lisle about her mother's threat to stop any money from their trust funds and to take over the ownership of Beckfoot.   
  
On Sunday Nancy overslept and got up very late. She spent the day sorting out the gear she had brought from Beckfoot. Just before lunch she told Mrs Ackroyd what had happened while she was away. Telling Mrs Ackroyd about it brought her up short because she had to face in a new way how different her life would be from now on. Nancy accepted an invitation from Mrs Ackroyd to a meal in the evening. After the meal, when the children had been put to bed, Joss disappeared and Mrs Ackroyd sat Nancy down and had a very long conversation with her about how to cope with her rejection by her mother. 


	9. Titty goes to Cambridge

Mrs Walker helped Titty to list all that she believed she might need while at Cambridge. It seemed an awfully long list to Titty, and longer when her mother had added to it. Mrs Walker then helped Titty to pack it all in one kit bag, a case and a small rucksack. They were almost full. Titty made a secret pact with herself that she would never take so much again, once she knew better what she would really need. There was space in both the case and the kit bag but, as Mrs Walker pointed out, that space would be needed on the return journey since there would be more paper and more books. Titty found the business of packing somewhat confusing; there was so much to think about. What you took to school was regimented, but you had to make your own mind up about what you took to Cambridge.   
  
They travelled to Cambridge by train, since Mrs Walker did not fancy trying to find the college and then park in a strange town. Besides, she felt it was important Titty should learn to be as independent as possible.  
   
When Titty arrived she was shown to her room in the eaves of the building. She wasn't disconcerted by having a room to herself as that was a privilege she had enjoyed at school. It looked out on the quadrangle and lawns of the college, and was simply furnished. Her mother helped her unpack, and they went out clutching the book list that had been among the papers she had been given. The list seemed very long to Titty, and there was also a list of suggested stationery. They went to Heffers, which seemed busy with other students. She and her mother had began to search the shelves when she was approached by an assistant. Mrs Walker showed her the list. She looked them up and down and said, "You could buy all these, but I would not recommend it. If you bought this basic start of six books and these three, it will give you a jolly good start. You'll find the library is well stocked; certainly they have several copies of these. As for the rest I should see whether you need them later. Ask for me. My name is Betty; I'll help you all I can."   
  
They paid, and Betty said. "If you go downstairs you'll find they have a starter pack of stationery. The only thing I'd add to it are some coloured pencils if you haven't brought any. I'd ask for Twitch, she's available and will help you. Tell her I sent you. She'll see you all right."  
  
"Thank you," they said. As they did so a tall well dressed woman trailed by a rather willowy looking daughter brushed past them. They heard her say, "Girl, get these, have them delivered to the address at the top of the list and invoiced to me at the address below." She stalked away.   
  
 Betty saw Titty's face, and winked.   
  
Even her mother stopped and watched the woman as she made her way imperiously down the stairs. They followed her, and found Twitch in the stationery department; she had just been treated in the same way as Betty. They were given the starter pack so there was no need to buy coloured pencils. Titty had brought those from home.   
  
When they got back to college the man at the porters' lodge asked, "Are you Miss Titty Walker?"  
  
"Yes," said Titty.  
  
The porter said, "I have a message for you from a Miss Nancy Blackett." He gave her a slip of paper which read 'Ss for ever. N'.   
  
"Thank you," Titty said.  
  
The porter eyed her and said, "We don't usually get messages as brief as that. What does it mean?"  
  
Titty told him. "N is for Nancy, and S is for Swallows."   
  
The Porter asked, "Swallows?"  
  
Titty replied, "Swallow was the name of the sailing dinghy we borrowed in the Lake District where we met Nancy and Peggy, so they have called us the Swallows ever since."  
  
He told her, "One day, but not today, you can tell me about it, I've never been further north than Birmingham."  
  
"Thank you," said Titty. "I will."  
  
They took the books and stationery back to the room and left them there. Mrs Walker was anxious to get home, and Titty went with her to the station. As the train drew out with her mother was leaning out the window and waving, she felt very small and alone.   
  
When she reached the college the porter was looking out for her with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"We have another mystic message for you," he said, and he handed her a yellow slip of paper.   
  
The telegram read, 'No duffer, won't drown. Love Daddy.'  
  
Titty smiled up at the friendly porter and said a further, "Thank you". She put the paper in her pocket and went to her room.  
  
The porter watched her go and said to his colleague, "Nice kid, that's the third 'thank you' I've had from her."  
  
His colleague said, "She looks very small and seems shy. I'm willing to bet she's a real brain box."  
  
In the morning Titty went down to breakfast in the dining hall, finding herself a seat at a table in a corner. A large cup of coffee was always a good start for Titty. She sat there quietly. A tall strapping young woman fetched her coffee and Titty wondered how it was possible to look so confident. The woman looked round the dining room scanning the seated students, and then did so again as if searching for someone, and then walked in her direction. She stopped in front of Titty.   
  
"Are you Titty Walker?" she demanded.   
  
"Yes, that's me." Titty was somewhat alarmed. And it showed clearly on her face.  
  
She went on, "I should explain, I'm Pamela, I'm a friend of Ros Blackwell's. She sent me to look out for you."  
  
"How on earth did you know me?" Titty asked.  
  
Pamela grinned, "Ros described you to a tee. Small, shy, she said, with a mass of curly brown hair and an elfin face. Now look round the hall. Who else can you see who meets that description?" She forebore to say Ros had also said to look for the prettiest girl, with arresting big brown eyes. She looked into them now, thinking that despite her smallness this person was someone to be reckoned with.   
  
Pamela said, "Gosh, you have given Ros some shocks. But right now you look rather overwhelmed?"   
  
"It's a little different from what I expected. It's so different from school," Titty said.   
  
Pamela commented, "You will get used to it all and us, and from what I've heard, you will not find the academic side too difficult, so what we need to do for you is to make life as enjoyable as we can. How about joining us on Thursdays and Saturdays for a run? The first cross country race is in November."  
  
"I'd love to do that," Titty said eagerly. She had been wondering how she was to train.  
  
Pamela said cheerfully, "I doubt if that will be as challenging as running with the marines. Let's get some grub. You sail, too, don't you? The dinghy sailing here is done on a small lake which was a brick pond. Not quite what you've been used to living on the east coast." Despite Ros' description, she was still startled to find the woman who had so impressed her friend quite so small and shy.  
  
Titty said, "Please don't tell everyone I train with the marines. I'd rather people didn't know about that. I don't think the naval authorities would want it spread about."  
  
Pamela said immediately, "Of course I won't, Titty." She thought to herself that she would jolly well find out how this little waif managed among marines.   
  
So that was the welcome Titty got. On Thursday she joined a group of other girls in the quadrangle and she found the pace easy. Pamela and Ros were with her, and both were rather amused as they trotted along in the pack at an easy pace.  
  
Ros commented, "I bet that was is a bit easier than you're used to?"  
  
"Yes, it is a bit," Titty admitted.  
  
"There are more of us on Saturdays, and the pace is faster. We're keen to see how you do."  
  
"Not very well, probably."  
  
 Pam looked down at this quietly spoken little person and saw a well muscled girl. Beneath the shyness, she decided, there must be a steely determination for whom only the very best would do.  
She said, "I'm not so sure about that."  
  
Titty found there was one lecture in each subject that first week. No-one seemed to care too much if she took notes or not. The lecturers seemed somewhat remote, compared with her teachers. They did not appear to mind if you were listening or not, and some of her other fellow students were obviously not. It was all so different from school. She was soon to find that, for her at least, there were other challenges. Pamela's expectation that she would find the academic side of college easy proved not to be true. Titty was among the last to leave her first French lecture. Mrs Pritchard, the French lecturer, fell into step with her, "Titty Walker, I want a word with you. Can you please be at my rooms at two this afternoon; do you understand?"   
  
Titty wondered over a coffee what on earth could have gone wrong so soon. But she had to go on to an Italian lecture with Mr Roberts that seemed very casual, even more so than Mrs Pritchard's anyway. She went to lunch with butterflies in her stomach; what could she have done? Having got instructions from the porter's lodge about how to reach Mrs Pritchard's rooms, she arrived early, nervous, and waited out of sight in a stairwell. At 2 o'clock she knocked timidly on the door. It was opened by a small sprightly woman and from inside she heard Mrs Pritchard's voice, "Who is it, Mary?"  
  
"Titty Walker, Mrs Pritchard," the woman called out.   
  
She hadn't asked Titty her name, so how did she know?  
  
"Show her in, Mary, and get us coffee, please," Mrs Pritchard said.  
  
"How do you like your coffee, Titty?" Mary looked at Titty, and went on in a whisper "It's all right, dear."   
  
"Black, please," Titty's nervousness receded a little, but she was still on edge.   
  
Mary showed her into a smallish, beautifully furnished lounge and purposefully sat her down. A voice from somewhere in the flat said, "I'll be with you in a minute, my dear."   
  
Titty's nervousness shrank a little more. She sat awkwardly on the edge of an easy chair in the middle of the room, uncertain what to do. Mrs Pritchard came in; somehow she looked a little less forbidding in her own lounge. Titty had already heard that she had a reputation for not suffering fools gladly. She waited and looked into a pair of stern grey eyes.   
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "There's no need for formality, my dear. Now you're here for me to ask a personal question or two. I hear down the grapevine you are studying Japanese on your own. Is that so?"   
  
"Yes, it is," said Titty  
  
"On your own?" Mrs Pritchard asked.   
  
"Yes, but Mrs Brownlee helped when I was at school," She wondered if she was going to get into trouble for it.  
  
"What made you decide you wanted to learn Japanese?" Mrs Pritchard asked her.   
  
"I thought of learning Chinese, but Daddy said it would be a good idea to do Japanese because...." Titty hesitated.  
  
"Because what, Titty?"  
  
"Because he thinks there will be a war with the Japanese soon." She said the words with obvious reluctance.  
  
Mrs Pritchard said immediately, "Sorry, Titty, I shouldn't have probed. I'll forget the last statement, since I gather you'd rather it wasn't mentioned to others."  
  
"Yes, please," said Titty  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "I said I'd forget it. I won't mention it again. The point is I have an informal Japanese class here once a fortnight about this time of day. Would you like to join in?"  
  
"Yes, please, I'd love to do that," said Titty eagerly.  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "You'll be very welcome. I think I should warn you my other two students are both young men, probably two or three years older than you," and she added with a twinkle in her eye, "I shouldn't think the two of us together weigh as much as either of them."   
  
Titty was obviously expected to comment and she said as bravely as she could muster, "I don't mind that."  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "They might be big, but they are a well mannered pair and sensible most of the time. Let me see - your senior tutor is Mr Roberts, isn't he?"  
  
Titty said, "Yes, Mrs Pritchard."   
  
"I'll ask Sam if he'll do an exchange so I become your senior. Come and see me at about 4 tomorrow," she said.  
  
Titty replied, "I have an appointment to see him at 10 tomorrow."  
  
"I'll see to it that you know which you should attend. The first Japanese class is Thursday week so whatever, I shall see you then. Mary," she called. "See Titty out, please." Then she added to Titty, "See you tomorrow anyhow."  
  
"Thank you," said Titty.  
  
Once outside Titty wondered how Mary knew her name and how Mrs Pritchard knew she was studying Japanese. So far as she was aware, she had said nothing to anyone. She never found the answer to either question, but she did learn that there wasn't much about the students in whom Mrs Pritchard had an interest that either Mrs Pritchard or Mary didn't know.  
  
At breakfast there was, suddenly, a tall man standing above her. She looked up and it was Mr Roberts. She was about to get up but he smiled down at her. "Don't get up. I am only here to say don't come and see me at 10. Mrs Pritchard will be your senior tutor, not me."  
  
"Oh, thank you. I mean, thank you for telling me," said Titty.  
  
"That's all right," Mr Roberts said. "She always manages to pinch the most interesting students. Besides, seeing the company you're keeping I must see you about athletics sometime, and I believe you climb too. At least Mrs Pritchard won't be interested in either of those activities. But it isn't a priority. I'll see you sometime."  
  
That Thursday Titty had her first German lecture. As she had been warned, Miss McDougal seemed the least pleasant of her lecturers. She was very brusque and businesslike, and seemed to lack charm and be without humour. She issued a piece of translation to the class and asked them to comment on it, but gave no indication as to what she expected. A student who tried to find out was cut short with the remark, "When I say comment, I mean comment. Don't ask for a detailed outline about what you should write; you're not at school now."   
  
The young student slunk into his shell and it was sometime before he re-established his self-confidence.  
  
The introductory tutorial with Mrs Pritchard was a more pleasant experience for Titty, but it was still very different from school. At her first lecture they had been given a piece for translation and comment, and Mrs Pritchard had given guidance by adding four supplementary questions. At the tutorial there were six other students, two of whom seemed bent upon dominating the group, but Mrs Pritchard did not allow them to do so. Titty found that some of the points the two students made were not very well thought out. She herself had remained very quiet to start with, but when she had grasped how the discussion was framed she felt she made a worthwhile contribution. At the end of the tutorial they had to hand in the translation and the comment. Titty wondered how her first piece of work would be marked. Mrs Pritchard commented at the end of the tutorial. "I expect my students to take an interest in current affairs, and I shall hold tutorials on current affairs from time to time. I expect you to be able to contribute to a debate."   
  
She, also informed the students there would be a cocktail party at her flat the following Monday. "I would like you to be there; it starts at 8 o'clock," she said.  
  
 It seemed to Titty there was always something to worry about. There was her first Japanese class that afternoon.  
  
Not very far away Pamela and Ros were hatching a plan to find out, as they put it, what young Titty Walker was made of. Their plan was simple. The next Saturday morning's run would be with men as well as women. On the course there were three little hills and they thought they would seek to pull away on those hills, to see whether Titty responded. Ros said, "We have just one chance, because she won't fall for it a second time."  
  
But for Titty, before the run came the Japanese class. As the time for the class got closer she began to feel more anxious. She had feigned her easy acceptance of the presence of two male students who had been learning Japanese a lot longer that she had at the small class, but it worried her. She had to knock twice before the door was opened. But Mary had greeted her with a wide smile and said, "The other two are here already."  
  
"I'm not late?" asked Titty anxiously.  
  
"Oh no, the boys were both early," said Mrs Pritchard, and ushered Titty into the lounge. She had refrained from telling Titty that they had arrived early by design. Chris and Basil had arrived slightly mystified, butMrs Pritchard had warned them, "I've got a new recruit. You are to be kind to her. She is a freshman, very small and very young, and very shy."  
  
"OK, Miss," they said in mock humility.  
  
Mrs Pritchard said with tartly, "I mean it, so just behave the pair of you. No baiting."  
  
So Titty found herself shaking hands with two tall strapping young men who had both stood up to greet her. The whole lesson was the most informal Titty had ever had. They had a short passage which they sought, together, to translate into Japanese, and then a passage to translate into English. There was much fun and laughter on the way but at the end they arrived at a workmanlike outcome. Titty was conscious that the other two were further ahead than she was, but she had made a reasonable contribution. The challenge meant she forgot to be shy.   
  
When the lesson ended Christopher turned to Titty and said, "How long have you been learning Japanese?"  
  
"I started just after the exams in July," Titty told him.  
  
"Crumbs, this is going to lift the bar. Chris and I have been doing this for two years and you're not that far behind us," Basil commented dryly.  
  
Chris said, "I'm glad you've joined us. It'll be a level of competition that will be good for all of us."  
  
The conversation that followed was very varied, andincluded talk about war in China. From there they went on to talk about living in Cambridge, and where the best coffee was to be found in town.   
  
Then Mrs Pritchard asked out of the blue, "Titty, haven't you climbed?"   
  
Before she could answer Christopher asked, "Do you climb?"  
  
"Not really, but a friend took me a few times. She has lived all her life in the Lake District. And I've done a little climbing in a quarry near home," Titty told him.  
  
Basil asked, "Did you like it?"  
  
Titty replied, "I loved it."   
  
Christopher asked, "What did you do to start with?"  
  
"We went to Dow Crag and did Easy Gully and a couple of little climbs on the crag," Titty told him.  
  
"A sensible choice. Did you do anything more?" Basil said.   
  
"Yes we were taken into the Langdale Valley and climbed on Raven Crag with an older friend who is an experienced climber."  
  
"Do you walk as well as climb?" asked Basil.  
  
"Yes, I've done some walking," Titty said.  
  
"The university has an active climbing club. Would you like to come along?" asked Chris.  
  
"Yes, please," said Titty.  
  
"I'll give your name to the secretary and he'll send you the programme. But the next meet is the weekend after the next class, so if you're still interested we'll see if we can arrange things for you."   
  
Mrs Pritchard moved the conversation on and very soon ushered them out. Titty had thoroughly enjoyed herself, even if she had been somewhat overawed. She went off to Girton while the two men returned to their lodgings.   
  
Once well out of earshot, Christopher said, "Well, I reckon she's going to give us a run for our money."  
  
"I think she must be very young. I should think she is just 17. I thought she was a nice kid," commented Basil.  
  
Chris said, "She doesn't look very strong. I cannot see her being much good as a climber."   
  
But Basil said, "I'm not so sure. You don't have to be tall. Look at Jimmy; he compensates with having agility and a sense of balance." And they then went on to talk of other things.  
  
On Saturday morning Ros and Pam sprung their trap. The club usually ran two circuits of a three mile course. About a mile into the course were three sharp little hills which were known to test runners. It was here, on the second circuit, that Ros and Pam struck. There were six girls in a group, of whom Titty was one. Three girls slowed before the hill, but Pam and Ros ran on and then accelerated. Titty forgot all the promises to herself, she passed the slowing girls, and chased after the faster pair. On the second hill Ros and Pam tried speeding up again, but this time it was Titty who passed them and was away on her own. She carried on and then, too late, remembered her promises to herself not to race ahead and slowed down, but she seemed to wait a long time before they caught her up.   
  
Meanwhile, Ros and Pam looked at each other.   
  
Pam panted, "Well, you wanted to know what she was made of; now you do. That was pretty impressive by any standards. We've booked her to run for us next month, haven't we?"   
  
Ros said, "Yes, and if she repeats what we've just seen, she'll challenge everyone."   
  
When they caught her up Titty was full of apologies for what she described as showing off. One of the other girls said, "Oh, for goodness sake, don't feel like that, Titty Walker. When you are with us, you ought to be able to do what you've just done without feeling that you're showing off. But, gosh, can't you go."   
  
Another said, "Titty, I am captain of the Girton cross country team. Next Saturday there is the first inter college cross country race. You're booked as a member of the team and I'm not taking any nos."  
  
There was a tutorial with Miss McDougal which was very much more formal than the one with Mrs Pritchard. The students had been given a long piece of translation to do and comment upon. The discussion took place with Miss McDougal making sharp interjections, frequently of a sarcastic nature. Twice she took exception to something Titty said. On the first occasion Titty crept defeated into her shell, but on the second she was confident she was right and stood her ground. At first, Miss MacDougal sought to brush her comment aside, but Titty was persistent. She had picked up the phrase in question during discussions during exchanges between the naval personnel, and was sure of her ground.   
  
At the end of the tutorial along with two others she was told to stay behind. Titty expected to get into trouble, especially as she was last to be seen. She was surprised to be asked, "Why were you so sure on that point?"   
  
So she was forced into telling Miss MacDougal about the work she had done at the base. It drew the response, "There may be two meanings. I'll investigate it and let you know. But I had no idea you had done anything like that. I take it you would much prefer that was not generally known?"   
  
"I don't want people to know!" Titty began.  
  
"Including the fact that you have been translating for the naval authorities at Shotley, a fact you'd have much preferred I had not found that out?" went on Miss MacDougal.  
  
"Well - er, yes," Titty said.  
  
"I don't blame you. I can't forget it but I would if could," said Miss MacDougal.   
  
It would be the cocktail party next in Titty's crowded timetable. She put on her best dress and her court shoes, and went along very tremulously, prepared not to enjoy herself. She knocked, and was let in by Mary. She slipped into Mrs Pritchard's rooms and it seemed transformed. The sitting room seemed far bigger now that the lounge furniture had been pushed to the wall, although the room was full. She was immediately given a glass of wine, and would have preferred to hide for a few minutes but was quickly cornered by Christopher and Basil, looking very smart. They began to talk about climbing, probing to find out what walking and climbing she had really done. Under pressure Titty admitted shyly that she had climbed in the quarry with the Shotley marines, and that she joined them when they were training for cross country. She showed alarm when they mentioned they knew she trained with the marines.  
  
Somewhat defensively she admitted, "No, but Ros, and Pamfound out by mistake. I don't think the Admiralty would like it if they knew."  
  
Basil said, "We know. We've told them to keep stum, and they've promised not to tell, and nor will we, but we needed to hear it from you because we could not believe it. May we know how Ros found out?"  
  
"I went and came second to her in a race in Colchester.,Some of the marines were shouting for me, and she wanted to know who they were," Titty told him.  
  
"Now I understand. And we've heard how you left them for dead on the cross country course. It's another story that's got around," said Chris.  
  
Titty said, "Oh dear, I did not mean to show off."   
  
Chris told her bluntly, "You didn't. We've heard you waited for them, all bashful, and tried to pretend you hadn't done it. I know it's silly thing to say this but you shouldn't be so modest about it. Just make sure you do your best next Saturday. Girton needs a win."   
  
Basil just grinned and nodded. They both moved on to talk to someone else.  
  
Titty was grateful when Mr Roberts came up and said, "I understand Ros and Pamela have already coerced you into running for college next Saturday."  
  
"Yes, but I don't mind if you think I shouldn't," Titty said.   
  
"You shouldn't! After what I heard - which was that you handed out to them the lesson of their lives last Saturday," said Mr Roberts.  
  
"Not really," said Titty.  
  
"Well, that's not quite I heard, but never mind," said Mr Roberts.  
  
Titty said, "I didn't mean to."   
  
He ignored that but went on, "I hear that you're interested in joining the university mountaineering club. Is that right? We are expecting to go to Derbyshire for a meet the week after next. Would you like to come with us?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
"That's splendid. Chris and Basil will see to your transport since they seem to have adopted you. There will be some walking and climbing. It won't be that hard and will be a good introduction. I'll pass your name on to the organiser and they will arrange transport for you. You've done a little climbing and, I gather, quite a lot of hill walking?"  
  
"Yes but only in the Lake District," said Titty.  
  
"My dear, some students come here wanting to climb the Eiger and think the Lake District is somewhere south of Manchester."   
  
Titty laughed. Mr Roberts went on, "Who have you climbed and walked with?"  
  
"Mostly with my friend Nancy. She has a friend called Mary Dixon who took us out for a day," Titty told him.  
  
He asked, "You've climbed with Mary Dixon? You're a very lucky girl. How did you get to know her?"  
  
Titty said, "We camped near her farm and had to get our milk and eggs from her, but my friend had known her for years."   
  
"You did, did you. You sail as well as walk and climb don't you?. When did you last sail, you lucky girl?" he asked.  
  
She said, "We took a small cutter up and down the east coast, and in and out the east coast rivers. And my mother borrows a naval dinghy from the naval base where we live and we go out with her. My mother's better at helming than any of us, except perhaps my brother, John."  
  
"So can you navigate as well?" he asked.  
  
Titty told him, "Only with the help of my parents. My father is in the navy and has done lots."  
  
"Is the boat you sailed down the east coast your parents'?" he asked.  
  
Titty told him, "Oh no, we borrow it from a friend. We have to pay for it and my younger brother helps the owner to maintain the engine."  
  
Then he asked, "So how are you enjoying life here?"  
  
Titty said, "Very well, thank you. I found some things a little strange and so different from school."   
  
By now other students had joined them as the lecturers had intended and the circle was getting progressively larger. One girl, Lillian, had accompanied her parents on archaeological digs and had spent time in Orkney; another had spent long periods in France, and her parents now owned a house there. Titty struck up a conversation with Joyce who was being brought up by her mother in a flat in east London. She seemed more uncertain of herself than even Titty. She found out that Lillian had done some running but also played chess very successfully at school. No one had asked Lillian along to any runs so Titty did and thereafter Lillian was became a regular. Titty returned to her room in the eaves, thankful another hurdle had been crossed. Perhaps cocktail parties were not so bad after all. But what would it be like when Mary wasn't there to fill her glass with lemonade?  
  
On Saturday, Titty woke and got ready and walked slowly to the starting point of the inter college cross country race. She was very worried that she would not give a good account of herself. There were eight girls to a team and forty two girls were lined up at the start. Looking along the line Titty decided she must be the smallest and the youngest girl in the line, and she was right. They started bunched together, but three girls went off fast and were quickly yards head. After a mile or so a group of seven which included Pamela and Ros as well as Titty detached themselves from the rest of the field. Titty thought, if we all get placed in this order we should win the team event.   
  
Christopher said, "That girl at the back is Titty," and they shouted, "Keep it up, Titty!" But she hardly seemed to hear.   
  
"H'mm," said Basil, "Not so dusty. The girl's doing just as they told us she might. She cannot be modest this time, surely."  
  
Christopher said, watching her disappear up hill, "Gutsy little piece, she is. Girton may have got their winner."  
  
The three leaders were still in sight of the seven-strong secondary pack. Another mile, and the seven were six and one of those dropped away. Another half mile, and the leading three had been caught by the five. On the second lap over the first of the bumps the leaders, one of whom was Ros, quickened the pace and pulled away. Only Titty followed. But after a fast downhill they slowed. Titty went past them, and by the top of the third bump she was away by herself.   
  
The course followed a twisting little path through the a little wood. Titty dodged along the narrow path as fast as she could. The course come out on a big green field and then there was a short slope to a funnelled finish. Titty belted across the field. If Girton needed a winner she would be there for them. There was quite a large group of spectators. She caught the merest glimpse of Basil and Christopher who had come forward to cheer her in.  
  
Basil said, "Well, Chris, you've got your answer. A Girton win! That's changed the pecking order at bit. I thought she might do well, but not that well."  
  
Chris said, "I'm willing to bet the little waif goes all bashful when it comes to handing out the medals."  
  
 It was Mr Roberts who was there this time to wrap a blanket round her. Ros and other girl burst from the wood. Ros just beat her rival to the funnel.   
  
Titty's first words to Ros were, "I didn't let you down."  
  
"Darling, you've really done it now and stop blushing."   
  
Christopher and Basil were talking to the two early finishers of the men's race.  
  
 "How are the women doing?" asked one man.  
  
"A Girton fresher won the race - Titty Walker won easily," Chris said.  
  
"Who the hell's she? Never heard of her," one man said.  
  
"A tiny elf of a girl we met at Pritchy's Japanese class. Yes, she has just won easily. And Ros came second so they must be in line to win the team medal, too."  
  
He said, "Girton's got a winner, whatever next!"  
  
They had got a winner. And Chris was right; Titty was bashful at the medal ceremony and had to be coerced by Ros to be photographed, and then only with the three winners.  
  
Meanwhile Titty had begun to form friendships. There was Lillian, who now regularly joined her running. Alice had been at the same school as Titty. She had come up from school to read mathematics. They had never been friendly at school but that all changed now, and they became friends. Then there was Penny, who was reading literature and there was another girl, Joyce who was older. Titty and Lillian had fallen into conversation with her by chance in the dining room, because she always had a book with her, and she was also part of the running group. These were friendships that would last for many years, but the girls were both two and three years older than Titty. All four girls shared the same characteristic which was that they were reserved, and had little money. They preferred meeting in each others' rooms for coffee, and biscuits, if they could afford them, and chatting.   
  
Titty had now had three personal tutorials and they differed. The one with Miss MacDougal was the least pleasant. Titty had been pilloried for making a few careless mistakes with English, and criticised for bits of the translation because she had not achieved the right nuance. She thought some of what Miss MacDougal said was incorrect, and had felt a spurt of anger which Miss MacDougal barely seemed to notice, going on at some length about what could have been done. Titty found herself struggling with the heavy criticism.   
  
Just before she left there was a crumb of comfort, "Your effort was better than most." It was said dourly but then Miss MacDougal went on, "You are going to have to learn to accept a tutor's criticism."   
  
Titty left wondering how could she have been so stupid to allow those English mistakes past her revision of the piece. It was only afterwards she realised she had been rude, and when she next saw Miss MacDougal she apologised. But the mistake left her with a sense of inadequacy.  
  
She went to Mr Roberts, who was from the start far more friendly and easy going. He discussed with her the pieces of translation, briefly asking her why she chose one phrase or another. In discussion about her analysis he seemed very positive. It was not until the last few minutes that he listed points she had failed to mention, and he too, commented dryly she should pay more attention to her English and check what she had written before she submitted it. Only when she got back to her room did she realise that Mr Roberts had been kinder, but equally critical. When she got her submission back she found the red writing he used to annotate her submission did not make her happy. It seemed more critical than the details he had told her face to face. This was so different from school; normally there she had received very little criticism for her written work. She comforted herself that this time she had contained her anger, but she knew the criticism was just. But after his weekly lecture Mr Roberts had said, "You must learn to accept my suggestions without becoming sulky."   
  
So maybe she hadn't done as well as she thought she had.  
  
Then it was Mrs Pritchard's tutor group, and she had no better luck there. Her translations were praised but only in part, and again she was picked up on the slackness of her English in the critique of the piece. Once more there was a list of points she had missed. The criticism was harsh, but Mrs Pritchard made other points. There were, she told Titty, signs in both the translation and her essay that she had the potential to do very much better. She suggested, "It may be that you are trying too hard, but I suspect that you had come to know what your mistresses expected from you and the work you did at school was done to that standard. I did not expect so many mistakes in English as you made, and I think that was because you did not check your work sufficiently carefully."  
  
 It was this comment of Mrs Pritchard's that really got to Titty.   
  
That evening she wrote to her mother a letter that poured out her despair about the comments on her work that her tutors had made. She omitted everything about her athletic success. However, she was a little comforted to find that Alice had suffered a similar level of criticism. Then Joyce reassured them both that once they understood what was required they would adjust. Mrs Walker, reading her daughter's letter decided that it would do her no harm to be challenged and her return letter was sympathetic but suggested Titty should heed the demands of her tutors. So, when further translation and essays were set, Titty did much more careful preparatory work.   
  
Titty wrote Mrs Pritchard's work first and took more time over it than her previous one. When it was done she read through it very carefully, and was surprised just how many small mistakes she had made. Then she set out to do the same with Mr Robert's essay. One evening Miss MacDougal stopped by her during in an evening meal and gave her a list of books for extra reading. She said, "I would like you to look through this list and consult the library, and set yourself to read four. I'll discuss them with you at your next tutorial."  
  
Titty went to Derbyshire with the climbing club. She climbed on the Saturday with an older girl and then, with four others, did a long ramble in and around Edale. She had enjoyed herself no end and booked herself to go the Lake District for the second weekend in December, just before the students went down for Christmas. She climbed a couple of quite short difficult climbs on Sunday with Joyce.  
  
On the first Saturday after the trip to Derbyshire there was a race over the country. It was at Bedford, and for the first time Titty was competing for the college in an open race. It was a benign winter's day. The race was run over 41/2 miles of parkland with firm paths. Two girls from Oxford beat Titty into third place. She was inconsolable; she felt as though she had let everyone down. Nothing that Ros nor anyone else could do or say would placate her. Even when Ros told her, "I don't know how you do it. I've trained so hard for this race and yet even when it's on the flat I cannot match you; I had no answer. The college team is third in the race because of you."  
  
"If I'd done better the college would have been second," Titty said crossly and sunk into a moody silence.   
  
Ros made one more sally, "We've all been chasing you in training. You've just no idea how you've changed the training runs. And you come third. It must be training with those marines."  
  
That brought an immediate response, "Ssch, don't tell everyone about that, please Ros."   
   
"All right, darling, I won't."   
  
Ros despaired of changing her friend. Most young women of her acquaintance would have been pleased to boast of coming third and training with marines.  
  
Titty had one more individual tutorial with each of her tutors. Mr Roberts was first and she set out to see if she could read between the lines of what he said. He straight away commented on the improvement in the English, but he was tougher about the content saying that she must try next time to maintain a greater spontaneity, without losing her technical skills. Then he went through the translations in detail, asking why Titty had used one word and not another. She did her best to argue back, but very often she had to concede it was because she had not thought about the nuances of language. This time she began to see what he was getting at, and decided she must strive to do better. Although she was still stung by what he said, she felt it was just.   
  
There was then a note in her pigeon hole, 'Come and see me at 10 on Thursday. E MacDougal.' Titty went prepared for more heavy criticism and an unpleasant interview. It wasn't. Miss MacDougal sat Titty down and had a long conversation with her. It began with a review of what she had done, and how and why her essays had been marked in the way they were. At the end of this conversation her tutor said, "Look, Titty, I am being deliberately demanding because I believe you can do very much better than you have so far, but only if you set your mind . Have you done anything about that book list I gave you?"  
  
Titty produced the now somewhat crumpled piece of paper from her pocket which now had some scribbled notes on it. and told Miss MacDougal she had borrowed three of the books. But the fourth no one could find. Miss MacDougal produced some typed sheets for each of the books detailing sections she thought would be most useful. She also gave Titty a long piece of translation and an essay to do over the Christmas vacation. She told Titty she ought to get a copy of the fourth. In desperation one afternoon Titty went to Heffers and searched for it among the new books.   
  
She was just about to give up when a voice behind her said, "And what might you be looking for?"   
  
She turned and there was Betty grinning at her. Titty showed her the now grubbier list. Betty laughed softly and said, "Ha, one of Miss Mac's specials - I have a second hand copy under lock and key. I'll get it."   
  
Titty bought the book and returned to college in triumph. It was a small success that helped her to absorb her academic future. She had poured out her misery again in her letter to her mother, but Her mother's reply told her forthrightly to face reverses more philosophically. Titty determined to, and that evening she had a look though the books. The exercises in these books were far harder than anything she had done before. She was going to have a very busy vacation.   
  
Then there was the climbing weekend in the Lake District back in the Langdale valley. She travelled not with Basil and Christopher, but with another student. They were camped in the valley, it was bitterly cold, and they woke up to a layer of snow. On the Saturday they did a walk up Mickleden and over Rossett Pike and finished by going over Pavey Ark and down to Stickle Tarn. Joyce had come and two other girls who had little experience. The short winter's day, the cold, and the slippery conditions took their toll, and Titty had to carry Joyce's rucksack over the last part of the walk.   
  
On the Sunday most of the girls went on a shorter low level walk. But a young man called Jack Rudd was short of a second to climb with, so Titty volunteered. Jack proved himself to be an excellent and careful climber. Older than Titty by several years, he was dark and had a Geordie accent. He was shy of climbing with a woman, somewhat uncertain of what it would be like. They did three climbs. The first two were severe and Titty did well to climb them She was very careful and Jack had at first checked everything she did. It was very cold all day and Titty's hands grew numb at one point but she gritted her teeth and managed the rope to Jack's satisfaction. He was a taciturn man and Titty learned little about him except that he was reading mathematics, and seemed to have established himself as an outstanding student. A fact she learned from Mr Roberts on the journey home. They had to leave for Cambridge just before three and it seemed to Titty a long way to go for two short winter days, but in the car going home, Joyce confessed she hadn't enjoyed herself and did not wish to come again.   
  
On the Friday of the week after they returned there was the first of the Christmas parties. Foolishly Titty decided to walk back to her college by herself. A young male student followed her. He had been a thorn in Titty's side for some weeks. He was doing languages and had made a habit of sitting close to Titty at lectures and making remarks about her when he got the chance. He had come on the Lake District climbing weekend and with another student had followed them up Mickleden, but they had lost sight of him when they were climbing Rossett Gill. Now she was alarmed when he came up beside her and tried to make conversation. They had turned a corner and walking by a wall when he suddenly said, "I'm going to pay you back for playing hard to get." and pinned her against the wall and it seemed she was in real trouble as he grabbed her coat and tried to undo her buttons. She fought back kicking him as hard as she could and pummelling his chest, but he was quite strong.She was able to yell for help.   
  
Suddenly his grip slackened.   
  
A rough Geordie voice said, "Run for it, Titty."   
  
She did. There was a thump and when she glanced back her attacker was just being hauled to his feet by Jack. She ran off and did not stop until she reached the college where she arrived breathless. The porter on duty immediately demanded an explanation and she had told him before she had a chance to think. What he did she did not know, except both Mrs Pritchard and Mr Roberts must have been told.   
  
A day or two later at Mr Roberts' lecture the young male student arrived only just in time, and sat well away from her. He was sporting a black eye and did not seem very comfortable. At the end of the lecture he scurried away whereas previously he had made a habit of sidling up to her. Mr Roberts had stopped her and asked her if she was all right, making it obvious he knew about the incident.  
  
After the Japanese class she asked Chris and Basil if there was a way of contacting Jack. They told her that yes, Basil told her which was his college, and suggested she left a note with the porter he would get it.  
   
"We know why you want to, too," said Basil, "And we are going to walk you home, though I don't think you'll have any more trouble. People don't mess with Jack Rudd. He's hard little bugger. You don't get muscles like his unless you've done hard physical labour. He's a tough little chap and has had a rough life. By the way even if he does talk with that Geordie accent. We think that he really enjoyed climbing with you."  
  
"How do you know what happened?" Titty asked.  
  
Chris said blithely, "Oh, it has passed along the grapevine, besides he told us, so we can accompany you home."  
  
"Jack won't get into trouble, will he?" she asked.  
  
"Not him. He told his tutor but refused to reveal who he hit. His tutor knew it was not worth trying to find out from Jack. Not that it was necessary; those bruises will take sometime to fade," Chris told her.  
  
They did insisted on walking her back to Girton.  
  
The next morning at breakfast Ros and Pamela tackled her,  
  
"Hey Titty Walker, you fly high don't you?"   
  
Titty looked at them in puzzlement.   
  
Ros went on, "Friends with Basil and Christopher, whom you were seen with yesterday?"   
  
Pamela said, "Friendly with two of the most eligible men in the university is every girls dream. Christopher's gorgeous just to be with him - wow!"   
  
Ros said, "Look at her - she's pretending she doesn't know anything about it! How did you manage to get on terms with those two?"   
  
Titty replied, "I go to Japanese classes with Mrs Pritchard with them."  
  
Pamela asked, "Since when have you been doing Japanese for goodness sake?"  
  
Titty answered, "Mrs Pritchard must have been told by someone at school that I was learning Japanese, and she invited me to join the class at the start of term."   
  
Ros said, "Who goes to those lessons, and where are they held?"   
  
Titty said rather crossly, "We have them at Mrs Pritchard's rooms and there are only those two and me. Mrs Pritchard works us hard and gives us extra work afterwards. They're much better than me and they're always very kind to me. They insisted they walk me back to college because that man attacked me and they found out somehow. What's wrong with that?" She increasingly hated people enquiring closely into what she did.   
  
Pamela had given Ros a little kick Titty did not see. So Ros said, "Titty, nothing is wrong. It is just that we are envious of you. I'm not in the least surprised they're nice to you."  
  
Afterwards Pamela said to Ros, "She really is a total innocent and I don't think she has any idea. I think those two are genuinely just being kind to her which shouldn't be a surprise, They're decent blokes. It's the first time I've seen signs of the famous temper."   
  
Ros said, "Yes, I think you're right, and yes, I did notice the flash of temper."  
  
The term ended and Titty was relieved to be on the train home. Her mother collected her from the station. The marine's instructor was walking past when they arrived home and immediately invited Titty to join training the next day. It made her happy to be back at low key Shotley again, where she was not to be treated as star performer. She was asked to do a morning's translation by the Base Commander. It was for an older Frenchman with delightful manners and no one could disguise the fact it was a great success, Cambridge had lifted the bar. Meantime she wrote out on a rough piece of paper a list of the work she hoped to do. It would not do. If she was going to get through the list she would have to have target dates, so she wrote it out again with a target date for each piece of work.   
  
Miss MacDougal's translation was progressing but she was away behind with the essay and scheduled herself three afternoons on which to concentrate on it. She even asked her mother about it and got one or two ideas. It still wasn't coming up to scratch and she knew it. Then at the end of one early morning training session with the marines the training instructor caught her looking very pensive, and asked her what was bothering her. She told him about the additional work she had been set. He surprised her by telling her his mother was Italian and had been brought up in Genoa, the setting for the story on which her essay was based. He said somewhat apologetically "Not many of her brains were passed on to me, I'm afraid. But I could come round and have a talk one evening and even ask my mother a few things when I go home on Christmas leave."  
  
Titty said, "That would be very kind."  
  
The instructor said, "I have another suggestion to make. Some of the lads were talking the other day and had heard from somewhere that you had been attacked. They thought they could teach you unarmed combat."  
  
"Me?" said Titty in total surprise, "But I'm tiny? And how on earth did they find that out?"  
  
The instructor told her, "So is Titch. As for the other I wouldn't ask if I were you."  
  
Titty said, "But Titch is very strong. I can't be nearly as strong as he is."  
  
The instructor said, "No, but you are very fit and quite strong enough to know a bit about unarmed combat."  
  
"Do you really think that?" Titty asked.  
  
"No," he said, "I know it. You would be surprised how often they tell me so, too. Oh, and by the way, I asked your mother and she was in favour."   
  
What he did not tell her was that Mrs Walker was very much in favour; she had told him that she herself would welcomed the chance to learn. And so it was that among the other things that happened that vacation Titty was taught the first principles of unarmed combat. By Christmas Day, to Roger's great amusement, she had a few bruises in odd places.  
  
She has to miss a morning's training session with the marines in order to complete the essay for Miss MacDougal, but this had been partly due to the marines' instructor. He had been as good as his word and given her a lot of information about Genoa, and had taken Titty's questions home to his mother. He had brought back written answers in Italian and a proposal Titty should write to her regularly, saying it would be great fun reply in English. She had told her son that when they had an open day she was coming, and he was to introduce Titty to her so she could talk Italian to an English girl. She said, "A young lady who secures the admiration of your motley lot, can win races, and aspire to do an essay like the one you describe must be some girl."  
  
Her son told her, "She is, Mother, remarkable. And she is highly regarded by my bosses because of her ability as a translator."  
  
After Christmas Titty was called in to do two days translation when some more French naval officers visited to the Base, but this time with them came three very senior civil servants. It was the first time there had been civilian civil servants there when she had been translating. So, in her best blouse and skirt, she once again presented herself to the Base Commander's Secretary at the required time.   
  
Once there, Titty had to sit between the two French Officers, both of them very senior. It was a very vigorous debate and it required enormous concentration. Her duties did not end at lunchtime; Titty had keep on translating during the lunch and did not get much to eat. During a break the Base Commander asked her if she had been paid for the translation work she had done for him. She told him she had not been paid anything at all. He merely nodded and passed on saying no more. The afternoon was no easier, and by the end of the first day Titty was very weary. The next day she had to do it all over again. By midday she was very thankful that her day would end about three in the afternoon. When the French visitors left in the naval car for their return trip, Titty went tiredly home.  
  
The senior English admirals and the civil servants sat with the Base Commander in his office.  
  
"Well, Bob, if nothing else, you've found us the most charming and remarkably efficient translator in that little college girl. She's good, very good."  
  
"I'm afraid that we all took her far too much for granted these two days. But for such a shy little thing she has shown remarkable assurance and composure," said the Base Commander.  
  
"Well, Dow?" said the first speaker.  
  
"We need to keep tabs on her," Mr Dow said.  
  
The Base Commander told the group, "Would it surprise you to know she's good at athletics too, and trains with the marines here?"  
  
"What, you'll be telling me next that's why your team won the cross country championship," said an admiral.  
  
"Well, they think so," the Base Commander said, "By the way she hasn't been paid for what she has done before, despite my request."  
  
Mr Dow said, "Leave that with me. I'll see to it. I did know she was an athlete. She is a gutsy little competitor and has had some success."  
  
The other admiral said, " I forgot you were interested in athletics. Dow. Have you seen her run, and is she any good?"  
  
Dow did not answer at once. The others waited, for he was noted for being a considering chap, "I'd say if it wasn't for the fact she'll choose learning before running, she would be among the very best. Even so she is already formidable over the country, a hilly course and rotten weather and she's virtually unbeatable. Whatever, she's a really gutsy little girl and nice with it."  
  
They went on to talk of other things.   
  
When Titty returned to college she learnt she had won a £25 first prize for an essay competition. Then the essay she finally submitted to Miss MacDougal following her interview at the end of term, won her praise from Miss MacDougal and Mrs Pritchard, to whom it had been shown.   
  
Mrs Pritchard had commented, "I shall expect a similar standard for me in future."  
  
 Titty had looked so doleful Mrs Pritchard had briskly told her to buck up. Indeed, the essay she submitted to Mrs Pritchard was the best so far.   
  
But what Titty did not know, and was not told, that Mr Dow had rung Mrs Pritchard and told her he wished to be kept up to date with her progress.   
  
He asked bluntly, "Is she the nice modest kid that she seems to be?"  
  
"Yes, so long as she controls her temper. When she forgets, you see what a tough woman she is," said Mrs Pritchard, and Mr Dow laughed.  
  
Two weeks later there was a inter varsity race in Sheffield. Titty was picked to represent the university for the first time, because an established member of the team had fallen sick. She travelled up by train with the rest of the team; a very scared girl who looked it. It had rained and snowed during the week previously, and when the Cambridge girls went out and looked at the course it was hilly, muddy and rain threatened. At one point the women's course ran parallel with the men's course. Both the men's and women's races were run at approximately the same time on different courses, and they finished up the same hill.   
  
It seemed to take a while, but the runners finally lined up and Titty edged herself into the middle of the line, beside the two girls who had beaten her previously. Away they went. Soon many were slipping and sliding. Then it began to rain hard, cold rain. When they reached a long hill, Titty suddenly realised she was running behind the same two girls, and they were all ahead of the main field. The others toiled up the hill. Titty suddenly decided to make a move, and passed them going for the top of the hill. She was away racing through the rain and slush. An official was shouting, "Watch it. Here's the first of the women. Make sure she runs in the women's lane."  
  
The first of the men were coming through with only half a mile to go. Titty lifted her pace. She was dancing over the mud, while the men were ploughing through it. By now the rain was beating down, and in the open it was bitterly cold.  
  
She was being passed by several of the fastest men. She was on her own but one of the officials saw her as she burst out of the trees. Quickly they sent two of the men to the right of the finishing funnel and she was directed, a tiny figure, up into the funnel to cheers on all sides.  
  
The captain of the cross country team, who was talking to Chris and Basil saw her. "Quick, it's one of ours," he said, "There's no one around and she may collapse after that effort."  
  
So they muscled their way to the funnel exit as Titty shot through and then sagged into Basil's arms. Chris took her finishing tag from the official, and Chris and Basil helped her away from the finishing area. She had given her all as she had never done before.   
  
As the other two toiled up the hill, they asked, "Has the waif finished? She's impossibly fast, we had no answer on that long hill."   
  
An official pointed to the sagging, sodden figure still being supported now by Basil and the Cross Country captain. Two women from the St John's Ambulance came running up and Titty was put on a stretcher and taken off to the women's changing room. Ros finished fourth and Basil told her, "Your friend Titty won by a mile, but St John's ladies have just taken her off by stretcher to the changing rooms. You'd better go and see how she is."   
  
By the time Ros reached the dressing room Titty was sitting groggily by her clothes being repeatedly sick, but feeling better. She was ready to collect her medals for her first place and for the Cambridge women's team second place; the highest they had ever finished. At the prize giving, Ros had to help Titty up to receive her medal, but when the photographs were taken she stood bravely but shyly by herself.   
  
The winner of the men's race spoke to Ros, "Where did you find her? She's incredible, Charlie and I couldn't believe it when she went past us up that second hill. We caught her before the finish, but only just. There was only going to be one winner after that performance."   
  
Once again the press had a field day,They were not allowed into Girton so Titty was protected, but in college she was regarded a heroine. Titty hated it. Most of the Sunday papers had the picture of her shyly holding up her medal. There was a picture of her out on the course which showed her rather differently. It was the picture everyone who knew her wanted, even Mrs Pritchard, who sent a copy to Mr Dow. Another copy was shown to the Admiral.   
  
Two or three days later another envelope came from the Admiralty with more work to be translated, and with it a little note with a cheque for more money than Titty had ever had before. 


	10. Nancy lives in the North East

Nancy returned to Newcastle all too aware that she was entering a new phase of her life. Finally, she thought, her relations with her mother were on the edge of breaking down irretrievably. She had set out the previous Saturday hopeful that things could be resolved amicably. Now she knew they would not.   
  
In the ups and downs of the past she reflected that Peggy had always been the one to keep the peace. Now it was as if the roles had reversed, and if there was ever to be reconciliation it was highly likely that it would be her not Peggy who brokered an amicable amnesty. Nancy had no idea that Peggy's relations with her mother had been deteriorating so fast. Peggy had told her, but she had not supposed they had become as bad as they were, she had imagined that Peggy had been exaggerating.   
  
She could not help but think bitterly that it was Mrs Grove and her demands upon her mother that had decided their future. For all that had gone before, Nancy really had not expected it would come to such a pass. Perhaps her mother would ring her with a change of heart. Nancy was aware, to her surprise, that she was far less resigned to the break than Peggy. The only good thing was that they had re-established relations with Uncle Jim.   
  
Back in Newcastle, the furore about the fuel seemed to have died down, at least for the time being. The Ackroyds made no objection when Nancy returned to her room, and to her relief she was able to go back to only eating with them on Friday nights. Thirteen men had now been charged and they included a clerk in the office, the manager come secretary of the flying club, and a businessman who had kept his plane at the club's hanger, the man who had orchestrated the whole business. Others had been drawn into the conspiracy from another airfield. A driver from the fuel supply depot had been delivering fuel he had stolen, and it had been transferred to barrels in the airfield's tank. Most of the men involved had been refused bail, and those who remained were not considered by the police to pose a threat to Nancy or to anyone else.  
  
The part played by the Air Transport Services partners spread by rumour throughout the community, especially the business community, but the part Nancy had played was known only to the Airport Manager and the partners and it stayed that way. There was an immediate decline in business, but enough remained enough to keep the partners in the air most of the time. Neither Ralph nor the engineer who worked with him and maintained their planes, were implicated. While income was less, the pilots sought to conserve fuel by flying rather slower, but all disruption to fuel supplies ended, and control of fuel distribution became the responsibility of the airport management. So for a time things jogged along. Nancy's only regret was that the downturn in business meant she did less flying.   
  
Among those who withdrew their business was Mr Hindley, who had caused them problems, over non payment of invoices. The partners seemed quite happy but Nancy had come to like the cheeky well dressed youngish businessman, who seemed to have such diverse interests, flying to such a variety of destinations.  
  
Within a fortnight of returning to Newcastle Nancy had a letter from her mother, upbraiding her for her behaviour and telling her in so uncertain terms how foolish she was being. That to reject Mrs Grove's kind invitations and plans was, her mother told her, wholly unacceptable and especially when her objection was all for the sake of a job. Mrs Blackett re-affirmed her opinion that she did not believe it was necessary for either Nancy or Peggy to go out to work. Further, she went on to reiterate that neither of them was any longer welcome at Beckfoot unless they came to their senses and gave up their jobs, and apologised to her and to Mrs Grove for their wayward behaviour. Nancy did not reply to that letter.  
   
Within a few days Nancy had a short note from Uncle Jim confirming her own suspicion that her mother was now completely under Mrs Grove's thumb. Her mother, Uncle Jim told Nancy, had made a further effort to entice him into becoming Mrs Grove's husband. When he told Mrs Blackett he would have nothing to do with such a scheme he, too, had been banned from Beckfoot.   
  
In her weekly telephone conversation with Peggy, Nancy found Peggy had heard nothing from their mother. This surprised her and again reinforced her belief that was there to be a reconciliation it would through her and not Peggy. After that she did write to her mother, but only to say that she had no intention of giving up her job. Then one afternoon Mr Lisle rang and told her that her mother was mounting another effort to gain control of her daughters' trust funds, and to obtain the Beckfoot freehold. Mrs Blackett had changed her solicitor and was now using one recommended by Mrs Grove. In fact Nancy had a letter shortly afterwards from that solicitor, saying she should come to a "sensible and equitable" arrangement with her mother over her mother's property.   
  
Nancy did not reply to the letter but sent it to Mr Lisle. She also established that no such letter had been sent to Peggy, which seemed somewhat strange. What Mr Lisle did with the letter she never knew, but neither she nor Peggy ever heard from the solicitor again. From time to time Peggy told her Mr Lisle was still being pestered to grant Mrs Blackett's rights over their trust. Peggy said she would write briefly to her mother once every six weeks or so with some highlights of what they were doing, but effectively all contact with their mother ended.   
  
To see these things laid out in writing affected Nancy and made her angry and sad all at once. Mrs Ackroyd sensed something was seriously wrong, and asked Nancy what the trouble was. Nancy suddenly found it all a bit much and refused to say what had happened. Mrs Ackroyd was quite shocked at Nancy's bluntness, and she never asked Nancy about her personal circumstances again. Clearly worried by Nancy's lack of a social life, she did remind Nancy there was an open invitation to join the hockey and tennis clubs.   
  
Nancy phoned Peggy often, finding it easier to tell her about things on the phone than putting it in a letter. Peggy was sympathetic, but it was obvious she did not feel the same way as Nancy about the breach. Peggy told Nancy she had begun to enjoy living alone in Kendal. She was getting on very well with Mrs Pound, her landlady. Mrs Pound had suggested, Peggy should accompany her to the small Kendal athletic club, and Peggy had begun to train with them. She enjoyed meeting other athletes and was making new friends, and she had begun to attend evening classes.   
  
It was Peggy's example that propelled Nancy to join Mrs Ackroyd's hockey club. The Thursday after she had spoken to Peggy, she went along to her first training night. After training she was invited back to one of the player's home for coffee. She quickly realized she was far more out of practice than she imagined, and told the organiser she would revise the rules before she played in any team, but the meeting led to her being offered and accepting a ticket for the village hop. It cost her sixpence, but it was the beginnings of a social life in her new home.  
  
Nancy wrote to Titty telling her all that had happened, and just how deep her alienation from her mother was turning out to be. It was the first time she had written to Titty at college, and as she wrote Nancy wondered how the younger girl was getting on. She still could not imagine Titty anywhere other than at school. She did not think her shy friend would cope with any form of social life, particularly the kind of things she imagined went on at university. The sheltered family life that Titty enjoyed seemed a thousand leagues away from her own life. But she was aware that the restrictions that Titty was under would have irked her no end.   
  
The first hop gave Nancy a boost. She did not lack partners throughout the evening and thoroughly enjoyed herself. After the dance she was again invited back to another girl's home, where she thoroughly enjoyed talking to men and women of her own age. Nancy kicked herself for having taken so long to make the step.   
  
Two or three weeks later, she was asked to play for the hockey second eleven, she did and again enjoyed herself. Playing well, she was invited to join the team again the following week. Nancy had nearly thrown away her hockey stick and tennis racket when she was sorting out her stuff at Beckfoot now she was glad she hadn't.   
  
She met Peggy at Carlisle one Saturday when there was no hockey match. Once they had exchanged news about what they were each doing conversation began to thin out. Peggy, too, had been to hops and she obviously enjoying life. Nancy still felt an underlying disappointment that Peggy had a job in something as boring as insurance. They talked again about letters to their mother and Peggy admitted she found it difficult to find things to write about. She shocked Nancy when she said, "I don't think it matters I guess, when it is obvious we don't agree with her any letter goes straight in the bin."  
  
She also told Nancy that she wrote regularly to Uncle Jim, and had met him by arrangement in Ambleside. There, they had a conversation about their mother and Peggy seemed to have enjoyed herself being treated to tea and cakes in Ambleside. Nancy was not that interested, for Uncle Jim she felt had let them down badly by not arguing with their mother on their behalf. When Peggy suggested they both meet up with their Uncle Jim, Nancy told her she was not interested. Peggy mentioned that Mrs Pounds had found Peggy a two burner stove, and Peggy had begun to take an interest in cooking. Nancy was just not interested in that either, and the meals she made herself were always very simple, as simple as she could possibly make them.   
  
The brutal fact was that the meeting tailed off and ended earlier than it might have done, and each went their separate ways. Nancy decided Peggy was becoming very un-pirate like with her less strenuous social life, interest in cooking, and championing of Uncle Jim. When Peggy had shown her a cutting from an athletics magazine about Titty coming third in some cross country race she dismissed it as some school girlish race. When a few weeks later there was a second article to say in appalling conditions on a hilly course Titty had trounced all the other competitors and had come first, Peggy did not pass it on.   
  
Nancy began to train with girls from the hockey club on Tuesday night as well as Thursday. After training the team began to commandeer a little upstairs room in the local pub. Nancy began to date a young chap called Clifford who played in the local rugger XV.   
  
The police enquiries continued and it all took sometime for the police to gather all the strands of the fraud and during which time they continued to visit them. Sometimes it was Nancy they wished to see and at others is was one or other of the partners. They almost never came when Nancy was alone. One policeman, more forthcoming than the others, said bluntly they did not want to be seen to be interviewing Nancy alone. When the case came to trial it received a good deal of publicity locally. Pete was afraid the publicity would again damage the business, but it brought them and their services to very welcome attention of the wider business community. Nancy's appearance in the witness box was very brief, just as the police had promised all along. It was restricted to telling the court about the records she had kept, and how she had been followed into the farmyard and what she knew of the fracas.   
  
It was never revealed in court that it was Nancy who had noticed the discrepancies in the first place. The defence counsel did not bother to cross examine her, and it seemed possible that there might have been co-operation with the police over that. By contrast the partners were both given a hard time but they stuck to the accuracy of their evidence. It became clear that apart from the partners, the biggest losers were a small band of rich men who flew their private aircraft, mostly for pleasure, in and out of Newcastle. They had been fleeced into paying for more fuel than they had ever used. The total value of the theft was never conclusively established and none of the money was recovered. Nevertheless the conspirators were found guilty and went down for between three and nine years. And that was the end of the matter. Nobody heard from them again and the businessman's firm collapsed and was sold.   
  
Following the trial there was a steady increase in business. The partners, unbeknown to Nancy, began to consider the purchase of a third aircraft. Nancy was busier than ever, and it began to take all her time to keep up with the office work and make the regular flights that now came her way.   
  
One of the customers who had ceased to use them over the course of the investigation had been Mr Hindley, who had been so unpleasant to Nancy over his late invoices. Pete was not bothered, and hoped the man would not return as a regular customer. Nancy had always rather cared for him so when he re-appeared as a customer it often fell to her to take him wherever he wanted go. It gave her the chance to visit a lot more airfields than might otherwise have been the case.  
  
Then came the moment when Pete was mysteriously absent for a day and returned in a red Tiger Moth. It was to be Nancy's.   
  
To take over from her in the office, Pete employed a man called Carl Callander. He lived locally, came with excellent references and was therefore happy to work odd hours. He proved adept at picking up what was required, and proved to have an engaging telephone manner. It freed Nancy to spend more time flying.   
  
Only a couple of days after Carl started work, Nancy was sitting in the office when Jim McCarthy of Thompsons rang and asked, "How soon can you fly a part into Glasgow?"   
  
"Within a couple of hours," Nancy told him happily.  
  
"Who's taking it?" Jim asked.  
  
"Me," said Nancy.  
  
By the time he drove into the yard she was in her flying gear and had her flight plan cleared by the control tower. When he arrived with the part she went out to meet him.   
  
"You're looking very upbeat," he teased.   
  
"Come round the corner, and I'll show you why," said Nancy.   
  
She showed him the new plane and said simply, "Mine, at least mine to fly."   
  
Jim looked nearly as pleased as Nancy was herself and said, "Wait till Dad hears, he'll be as pleased as punch. Especially if you get this part to Glasgow.There is a lot hanging on that parcel, we might gain a big contract if this part matches their needs."  
  
Jim stayed to watch her take off. But Nancy was thinking, 'I wish he hadn't said that. I would be just my luck if I mess up.'   
  
The trip to Glasgow was very familiar, but there was a snag. The airport had a serious cloud cover problem. Nancy called up the control tower, and immediately the chap said, "They're desperate for that part. If we switch on all the lights, will you have a shot at landing?"  
  
Nancy said, "Yes, but I'll do a dummy run first."  
  
She did and she was sure she would be safe so she made another circuit. She called up control. "I'm coming in."  
  
"OK, Nancy," The controller told her.  
  
Even as he spoke, the cloud began to drift away and Nancy was able to make a perfect landing. As she landed, a little van followed her out and a chap tumbled out of it as she halted, running over to collect the package. He commented immediately, "I was told to look out for a yellow plane. Where's the yellow plane?"  
  
She could not resist boasting, "Somewhere in southern England, this one is mine!"  
  
Indeed the parcel had contained a part that was very important, and Thompsons gained a further sizeable chunk of business, not least because when required they could deliver so quickly. Nancy began to have her own regular clients as Pete and Mark did. Flying Mr Hindley wherever he wanted to go was high on the list of things she enjoyed. He began to ask her to fly him on to a second even a third destination. He seldom stayed long anywhere in the middle of the day, but frequently stayed away at night. So Nancy, too, became accustomed to having nights away and finding accommodation near airports for herself.   
  
To her disgust someone called her beautiful little red plane Tiger Lily. However she quickly discovered it brought her recognition, and men asked for her to fly them by name, which pleased her no end. Nancy was soon regularly flying from place to place, though she tended to remain in northern England while the partners did the longer trips, sometimes flying bits and pieces or people to the continent. Despite adding Nancy to the roster of pilots, the company was still busy. The routine was that on arrival at a destination they rang Carl to check the job roster. Nancy did this from Lancaster one day, and Carl said, "Nancy get yourself across to Millom just as fast as you can. There will be a doctor, a Doctor Duggan, waiting there to be flown to Birmingham just as soon as you can,"  
  
She flew into Millom and called up the control shed. Immediately she heard Georgie's familiar voice, "Land immediately, Nancy, the chap here is desperate to get to Birmingham."  
  
The man was standing beside Georgie as she landed. Her old instructor wished Nancy good luck, the man climbed in, and she took off. As it was such a late start the last part of the flight would be in the dark, and Nancy wasn't too keen as she had not done much night flying. She'd only flown into Birmingham airport once before, and then not at night. Her passenger, small, anxious looking, was in climbing clothes and he looked as though he'd come straight off the fells. As he climbed into the second cockpit he said, "Two hours ago I was climbing. I came down expecting a peaceful meal, and now I get landed with this."   
  
He sounded no happier than Nancy.   
  
She flew south across Morecombe Bay and down across Liverpool, turning south east across Staffordshire. The lights and flames from the blast furnaces of the Black Country came into view. It was dark now, and Nancy was flying a compass course, not absolutely sure exactly where she was. She was grateful to the operators in the control tower in Birmingham who called her up, guided her in, and talked her down. "Land and taxi up to the Control Tower, you'll see a car waiting to collect your passenger."   
  
Her landing was bumpier than she liked, but her passenger did not seem to notice. She taxied to a place below the control tower, where a big Daimler waited. Her passenger seemed to know what to expect. He said as he got out, "I should be here at nine tomorrow morning; you're to fly me to Hendon." It was the first time Nancy knew anything about that. Once he was gone she went to the Control and they directed her to a hanger.   
  
Two chaps came out of the hanger and one said immediately, "It's a lass, Jim."   
  
"You leave the plane to us." the other said. Nancy looked on anxiously as they pulled her Tiger Lily expertly into the hanger. These chaps, she realized, knew precisely what they were about.  
  
"Have you anything to eat? I'm starving,"she asked.  
  
They went to a cubby hole in the hanger and produced a bun that Nancy ate hungrily.   
  
The first asked, "Where are you staying, lass?"  
  
Nancy told him, "I've no idea. I only knew I was coming to Birmingham a couple of hours ago. I was hoping I might doss down in a corner of a hanger."  
  
"That's not allowed," he said, "Where are you going to eat? The café's closed this time of night."  
  
"I've no idea and I've no money." said Nancy.  
  
"You look all in to me. You come home along o'me and me and my Missus'll look after you. We can't have a lass dossing down here. By the way, my name's Burt," he said.  
  
"But I've no money," said Nancy.  
  
"That's no matter," Burt said, "You won't be the first person we've put up."  
  
So Nancy found herself walking home, with a chap who obviously was not wealthy, whom she had never met before, let alone knew. He lived in a very small house, near the airport. The couple provided her with a plain decent meal, towels and soap and a bed. Burt's wife woke Nancy in the morning, and then she was given a good breakfast and walked back to the airport.  
  
There, Nancy phoned Carl and found she was indeed to take Dr Duggan to Hendon. He arrived about 10, and not at 9 when he had said he would, she flew him to Hendon and he left her without a word. She wondered whether she had done something wrong but decided the doctor was rather above pilots. Nancy thought wryly that his attitude was in stark contrast to the two chaps in Birmingham. They certainly had far less money, no reason to befriend her but had ensured both she and Tiger Lily was looked after.   
  
By chance she went to Birmingham several times and she never went there without calling on Burt and his mate Ken, Talking to fellow pilots, she discovered she was indeed not the only pilot they had befriended.   
  
When she rang Carl he told her to stay where she was. A parcel would be brought to her, to be taken back to Newcastle. When the parcel turned up it was so big it took both Nancy and the chap who brought it half an hour to get into the rear seat. The chap proved to be resourceful, found a bit of rope, and tied it in to passenger seat. Nancy was very pleased to get back to Newcastle. She guessed that the Burt did not have a bank account so she posted three pounds to him with a note of thanks.  
  
She felt very tired, and she rang the captain of the hockey 1st XI and told her either she should be dropped or someone in the 2nd XI should be given a 1st XI place and she would play in the 2nd. In the end she was needed by the 2nd , but she did not play particularly well. To cap it all she had a blazing row with Clifford and she dumped him. Fortunately not all weeks were like that. Increasingly Nancy enjoyed flying Mr Hindley about but apart from that she tended to do the local flights, and was happy to do so. Initially, she kept an eye on the office, but very soon she decided it was unnecessary and left all the paperwork to Carl. He made a series of suggestions that that the partners approved, but Nancy was somewhat affronted and kicked herself for not proposing the suggestions herself.   
   
At each month end Carl would produce a simple report of expenditure, income, the balance and cash in the bank. Neither partner thought to check this information, but had they done so they would have found necessary to correct it occasionally. Pete checked that the balance in the bank was correct and other figures from time to time. Mark almost never checked anything, and Nancy seldom gave the figures more than a cursory glance. It soon became customary that they signed their initials against the figures, and Carl reminded them if they forgot. When a surplus built up Pete would transfer sums to a deposit account and would remark casually to Mark he had done so.   
  
Pete also suggested that Carl should write to those who had failed to pay their bills after a month. All that they requested, he did, and they were pleased to have found him. So it was Pete who maintained a careful watch over the finances of the business. Neither Mark, nor Nancy took any practical interest in spite of the fact they had promised to check the detailed entries in the account books. Only Pete knew that the rainy day account was growing satisfactorily. The experience and acumen that Carl showed indicated that he might be older than he had let on.   
  
Nancy and Mark found their tax tiresome and when Carl suggested he should assist them they welcomed this assistence. In reality, he dealt with the whole of their tax affairs and they showed only a passing interest in what he did. It was a great relief to Nancy who had always found her personal tax a bore. Pete never let him anywhere near his tax affairs.   
  
Carl also got on well with Mrs Rolls and he always ensured there was always something to eat in the storeroom cupboard whatever time the flyers reached the shed. Mr Hughes no longer visited the shed with the regularity he had when Nancy was there, but the bell that was designed to ring in his workshop in case of emergency was still wired up and he and Carl tested it from time to time.  
  
Business continued to improve, and Pete especially flew to France and Germany often, though he avoided Germany if he possibly could. Mark tended to specialize in Southern England. He had a girlfriend in Dunstable, and since they did business for Vauxhall car manufacturers he was able to visit her regularly. Pete flew north of Glasgow and Edinburgh, where they had a number of destinations mainly on the coast.   
  
Nancy herself still found Pete somewhat intimidating and so far as she knew he seemed to have few if any women friends and not many male friends either.   
  
Apart from Mr Hindley, it was Dr Critchley who was the person who used their services most regularly. He spread the word among his colleagues and that brought spasmodic business. Dr Duggan had continued to use their services occasionally. Following the fuel theft, the police made occasional use of their services, too. When they flew with Nancy senior officers seemed to get a kick out of being flown by a woman.  
  
One day, flying back from Lancaster, she stopped off at Kendal and met Peggy. She still could not understand how Peggy could put up with the sedate routines of the insurance company where she worked. In fact, Peggy had been successful in her first professional exams which pleased her boss no end. She was well aware Nancy thought she had become a dull person. Nancy found it impossible to grasp how she could stick the job; it all seemed so very fusty compared with her own freebooting life. Kendal athletic club did not have the kind of vigorous social life of the village hockey club with its monthly dinners and dances besides the village hops, and for Nancy, boyfriends. Peggy never went to a pub and as far as Nancy could find out had no boyfriends. She seemed quite happy to go along to evening classes, study and cook. She met Uncle Jim about once a month taking the bus over to Ambleside and having lunch in one of the little cafes in the town. She continued to write regularly to their mother but never had any reply. By now Nancy had given that up altogether.   
  
In Nancy's opinion Peggy never really did anything to enjoy herself or let her hair down. But at the same time Nancy was rather envious of her contentment with her unexciting life. Nancy was proud of the fact that the partners had given her several pay rises, and especially happy since she had been given Tiger Lily. She was now earning very much more than Peggy was ever likely to do. She never inquired of Peggy whether she did well at athletics. In fact Peggy had become a regular and reliable member of the cross country team, usually finishing in the first twenty and occasionally further up the order. It was she who wrote occasionally to Titty and received replies mainly about the life Titty led in Cambridge. Peggy knew Titty was having a very successful racing season, and Titty continued to be mentioned in the athletic magazine Peggy took. She knew that in bad weather and on hilly courses, in the world of women's university cross country, her friend was becoming regarded as the athlete to beat.  
  
Meanwhile Nancy had established herself as a permanent member of the village hockey 1st XI, which was having a successful season. Nancy scored most Saturdays. She had a vigorous and aggressive style of play, and often beat an opponent to the ball because of her physical strength. Her social life was equally exciting and she never missed either a hockey club social or a village hop. Clifford was dumped in favour of Jim and he was followed in short order by Alan and then Lance. Lance stayed on when others fell by the wayside but it was not altogether clear to Nancy why she didn't dump him. All but one were rugby players. Nancy became familiar with various corners of the village used by lovers for a kiss and cuddle.  
  
As winter ended and became spring, and then early summer, Nancy exchanged her hockey stick for her tennis racket. The monthly hop continued, but the hockey club social fixtures became tennis club fixtures, often Saturday picnics, and Nancy's social life continued to pick up pace. Lance remained longer than most, but Nancy had taken a fancy to a big heavily built chap called Bernard. For once it was he, not she, who played hard to get. He had a good reputation as a rugger player, but was only a mediocre cricketer. But he was still part of the Saturday crowd.  
  
Over in Kendal Peggy was mixing her studies with some running and had some success on the rough village grass tracks where she competed with Mrs Pound. She discovered Mr Pound had a deserved reputation as a miler. She continued to correspond with Titty whose letters, she noticed, had become briefer as the exams approached. Peggy remembered the awesome revision schedule Titty had once left at Beckfoot and was conscious that with Titty success in examinations took precedence over all else. But her friend's cross country season had been hugely successful with two major victories and a string of minor successes. Because she appeared so small and frail the newspaper columnists seemed fascinated by her, naming her the 'little lass'. They predicted she would have a great season of summer track events. But interest faded fast when she ceased to appear. Only one reporter noted in his column that he knew she was studying hard, for as the exam season approached Titty had passed up competitive running altogether, and did not train as hard.   
  
There were instead, she told Peggy by letter, two essays that she was expected to enter for competitions. The Pounds knew that Peggy and Titty were friends, and Mr Pound was particularly impressed with the fact that she had put her exams first. He told Peggy one day when the athletics magazine again made no mention of her friend, "After all, she went to Cambridge to study didn't she? From what you've told us about her she isn't likely to muck about and neglect her studies. I admire her for taking her studies so seriously."  
  
The two sisters met in Carlisle one wet summer Sunday. They exchanged news, but in Peggy's eyes Nancy had become only interested in flying and men. An effort to engage in a conversation about current affairs failed to generate any interest. Nancy passed off the newspapers with, "The papers are only interested in this silly idea there is going to be another war with Germany and the confounded budget. I'm not interested in that stuff."  
  
It was the same when Peggy suggested they had a weekend in Rio, and by arrangement with the boat builder borrow back Amazon. Nancy was not interested. So one weekend a month Peggy arranged with the boat builder to borrow Amazon back, taking the boat builder's young son as crew. They even took part in a couple of races. This was so successful that Peggy would stay over with Captain Flint and soon found she thoroughly enjoyed racing Amazon as captain, not crew. She enjoyed sailing with the boat builder's young son and soon they were sharing the helming. Freed from Nancy's presence Peggy found she enjoyed some success in races on the lake, with a second and a third in the mixed crew class.  
  
Back in Newcastle Nancy was now a busy woman. She spent more time in the air than ever before and she loved it. There was always a parcel or person to be taken somewhere, to be flown back to Newcastle or on to somewhere else.   
  
Then a retired professor from Newcastle was to be taken to Cambridge. He was to taken early and brought back late in the afternoon, and his trip gave Nancy the opportunity to meet Titty. It was early when she rang to try and make the arrangement to meet her friend, but whoever answered the phone told her immediately that Miss Titty was out, but could be expected back in about 45 minutes. Nancy was amused at the 'Miss Titty' and wondered what it was like to have people who could predict so closely your movements, especially as Titty was indeed there when Nancy rang back 50 minutes later. She made arrangements with Titty to call for her at the porters' lodge, hoping one of the airport crew would be driving into town. In fact, Nancy got a surprise, for the lecturer offered to share a taxi with her into town.   
  
Once in Cambridge, Nancy called as instructed at the porters' lodge and was told Miss Titty had just passed by, and would be back very shortly to meet Miss Nancy Blackett.  
  
Nancy said, "That's me." She received an appraising look and again she thought, 'I wouldn't like that kind of intrusion into my life.'  
  
Titty had the advantage over Nancy, since she recognised her friend as she crossed the college courtyard. Nancy had an air of authority, and it reminded Titty how tall Nancy was, 5' 10" or 5' 11". She seemed to have matured and was now sturdy and more muscular. She looked very fit and windblown after a couple of hours in the air, a formidable and authoritative figure. Amazonian was the word that Titty thought of immediately.   
  
To Nancy, the porter said, "Here is Miss Titty coming now."   
  
If Titty was surprised, Nancy was amazed, Titty looked so different. When Nancy had last seen Titty the previous summer she seemed no more than a school girl. The young woman crossing the courtyard possessed poise, maturity and was strikingly pretty. Petite, with her mother's flawless skin, she was almost elfin amd for all that, she had an air of toughness at the same time. Her mass of brown hair now curled beguilingly over her shoulder. There was curious air of unselfconscious charm about her, but also an air of, 'Don't mess with me, I'm Titty Walker'.   
  
She greeted Nancy with a cheerful, "Hallo Nancy, you look in splendid form."  
  
Even Titty's self confidence caught Nancy by surprise, and all she could find to say was, "You look lovely."  
  
"Let's go for coffee, I want to hear your news," Titty said. She waved gaily to the porter, and led Nancy briskly into town at a pace that tested Nancy's stride.   
  
Nancy felt bound to say, "You've changed. I hardly recognised you as you came across the courtyard."  
  
Titty dismissed it blithely, "Remember I was uncertain if I would be coming here, which is what I so wanted to do? I love it here. It suits me."  
  
Nancy was still puzzled over the transformation in her small friend, but she was hungry and thirsty, "Is there anywhere we can get a decent cup of tea and something to eat?"  
  
Titty assured her, "Of course. Come with me, and we'll get a drink and you can see the menu, and decide what you want."  
  
They walked down the Cambridge main street, thronged with people, and turned down a side street to a small insignificant door that led to a flight of stairs.  
  
Nancy thought the entrance looked rather dowdy, but Titty was quite confident and opened the door at the top of the stairs into quite a small room with small tables and plain comfortable chairs. It was different from the brash modern décor of the places that Nancy was accustomed to visit in Newcastle. Titty led the way in, and was immediately greeted by a plain looking comfortable looking woman, "Hallo, Titty."  
  
Titty replied "Hallo Louise, How's Charly?"  
  
Louise told, her, "He's fine now, Titty. Thank you. What can I get you?"  
  
"We'll have a pot of tea, and a coffee for me please, and then can we have the menu? We'll have something to eat."  
  
Titty led the way to a table by the window that looked down on the little street, they sat down and Titty asked, "What brought you here? And what are you doing?"  
  
Nancy told her with some pride, "I've brought a professor to some beastly conference, and I've to wait and take him back to Newcastle in a couple of hours."  
  
"Is this the sort of thing you do? How exciting to constantly go from place to place! Are you enjoying yourself?"  
  
Nancy smiled at her friend and said, "So many questions, yes, I'm flying almost every day now, and I do fly all over the country, but mainly in the north. Mostly it is parts and papers like drawings, and sometimes like today people, business people, doctors and policemen. I love it. I take a businessman called Mr Hindley wherever he wants to go so I see all manner of places. He's cocky and cheeky and fun."   
  
Titty said, "I shall always remember how you told me when we were standing on the top of Parvey Ark you were going to learn to fly, and now you have and turned into a career!"  
  
Nancy said, "Do you know, I had almost forgotten that, how strange you should remember. I love flying. It's so exciting, and I like going to different places. The partners have now bought me a plane to fly, it's a Gypsy Moth and its bright red and I love it. Sometimes it's cold and wet but I don't care about that. I like flying people."  
  
Titty asked, "Who does the work you did?"   
  
Nancy went on, "Oh, the partners employed an odd chap called Carl who seems quite content to sit in an office all day. I'm supposed to check his work, but it isn't necessary he's so efficient. I'm hoping that soon the partners will make me a junior partner. Then they might give me a big pay rise."  
  
Titty asked, "What do you do in your spare time? And do you like living on the farm?"  
  
Nancy told her, "It's all right living on the farm but I don't spend much time there. In the winter I played hockey as a winger in the village hockey team and now I'm playing tennis. With luck, I'll win a couple tournaments. Then there are dances and dinners and I've had lots of boy friends and I go out with them. I bet you've got a boy friend?"  
  
"No," said Titty.  
  
"I can't believe that, I bet you've had lots. I bet the boys are swarming at your door," suggested Nancy.   
  
They ordered Nancy a full English breakfast, which was served all day, and Titty a cheese roll.   
  
"Men are not allowed on college premises." Titty told Nancy. "I meet men at lectures and our climbing club is mixed but I haven't had any boy friends."  
  
Nancy's comment was, "I can't believe that, the men here must be slow. I wouldn't like to live in a place where men were not allowed. How stuffy. Isn't there a social life?. I can't believe there isn't. Come on, tell me about it. I can't believe you don't have a regular boyfriend, there must be lots of gorgeous men."  
  
"I have been on the Cam now and then with friends and I've been climbing. But I'm here to study, you know, and it's what I like doing best. I've always loved studying. I suppose it must seem dull hard work to you, not like flying from place to place. There are always essays to do, and lectures to go to, and then there are always the exams. I am revising and preparing for them now."  
  
Nancy said, "Gosh, how dull, I'm glad I don't have to do exams anymore. Peggy has to do exams. It's all far too much like school for me. Doesn't it really mean you don' have time to go out and have boyfriends?. I just can't believe you don't have a boyfriend you're just keeping quiet about him."   
  
Titty was getting a bit fed up of all this talk of boy friends. She asked, "Well, what about yours?"  
  
"Lance is a big chap, taller than me and strong with it. He plays rugger for the 1st XV and he's the hooker. He plays cricket too, but he is better at rugger. He's a salesman for a local steel fabrication company," Nancy said with some relish.  
  
"What's steel fabrication?" asked Titty.  
  
"Oh, they make things out of metal," Nancy said, "I like getting behind the club pavilion and having a snog it's exciting. But he's not the bloke I really want to go out with, that's Bernard, he's handsome, but he's playing hard to get. How about doing some more climbing? We could go to Borrowdale I can't go home anymore and I've only been to Borrowdale once. The climbs are quite near the road, no long walk like there was to Dow."   
  
"I'd like that." said Titty.  
  
Nancy began, "We could stay in the valley, there's sure to be a farm, I could ask... Gosh, blooming hell, look at the time I must fly, now, this moment, cheerio, see you."   
  
So Titty never learned who Nancy was intending to ask. For Nancy had gathered up her bag and left, and Titty heard her clumping quickly down the stairs in her flying boots. Then came a shout in Nancy's ringing voice as she called a taxi. The waitress came and asked if Titty wanted the bill and she said she did, paid and made her way back to college to immerse herself in her books. That night, she wondered if she really wanted to climb with Nancy, who it seemed to have changed so much., Nancy had changed, and she was Titty thought somehow more brittle. She herself could not imagine enjoying the life Nancy was now leading.   
  
Meanwhile Nancy had hailed a taxi and was taken out to the airport where she found the professor waiting. He was none too happy, since the arrangement was that she would be waiting for him. But Nancy flew him carefully back to Newcastle, by which time he seemed happier. She was not sure, however, if he would ever fly with them again, and while she did not tell Pete or Mark she resolved never to be late again picking up an appointment.  
  
Back in Cambridge, Titty had half a mind to write to Nancy to cancel her holiday, but forgot, there was so much more to do to prepare for those exams.  
  
In the morning Nancy had a part to fly to Glasgow and another to bring back, and then it was on to Preston with a batch of drawing. These had to be taken by taxi to a firm not far from the airport, and signed for by a named person. Then it was down to Manchester and back to Newcastle late on Friday There she had gone straight out to meet friends for coffee, and did not get home until the early hours, after another snog in Lance's car. As a consequence it was late, nearly 10, before she got into work on Saturday morning she only just had time to do her somewhat scanty records and have a quick look through the work Carl had done during the week.  
  
Finished, she had some egg on toast and hurried out to play tennis, a tournament match which she just won, and then she played a doubles match partnering Lance. After the two games she felt tired, but Lance took her out to a dance and then took her to his home where his parents were out and they had a kiss and cuddle on the sofa. She had to plead that she was tired, and so he took her home somewhat disgruntled. Nancy rolled into bed and did not wake until after 10.30, and for the first time thought about her meeting with Titty. To invite Titty to Borrowdale was something she had done on the spur of the moment. Thinking about it, she wondered if she had been foolish. Titty seemed now so old world and out of kilter with her own exciting life. Titty was now so pretty. Surely she would find it easy to make boyfriends, and yet Titty had seemed totally uninterested. Who were these men with whom she went to lectures? And what were these men she climbed with doing not taking out such a pretty girl? Nancy decided it would be easy to book a week's holiday and go to Borrowdale for a couple of days with Titty, and possibly Peggy, and then find an excuse to slide away and go elsewhere and do something more exciting.  
  
She suddenly felt very satisfied with life. She was earning good money, more, much more, than most of her contemporaries. Certainly more than Titty, who was totally dependent upon her parents. It wouldn't suit Nancy. She wasn't bound to doing exams or having a stuffy life in a college under the eye of porters who might tell people if you did not come in till morning. She had Lance, and if that came to an end there were plenty of other men in the pile. You did not need a university degree or insurance qualifications to earn good money. Mark had hinted the other day she might be made a partner, and that would surely mean a further pay rise. Mrs Ackroyd had made a remark the other day about burning the candle at both ends. 'Blow it,' thought Nancy, 'I'll think about buying my own place. Then I can come in and out when I like.'   
  
That evening Nancy did some rough sums on a piece of paper and decided she could afford to live on her own. She was sure that Mr Lisle and the trustees would advance her money to buy a house.   
  
She had now given up writing to her mother entirely, although Nancy knew Peggy did occasionally, nor was she interested in keeping up with Uncle Jim. She knew from Peggy that their mother was still seeing a lot of Mrs Grove and attending the Circle meetings two or three times a week. Peggy reported Mrs Blackett was again making efforts to secure the Beckfoot freehold and gain control over their trust funds. Peggy had said their father had tied their trust and Beckfoot up in such a way that Mrs Blackett could not influence the administration of the trust.   
  
Of greater concern, Peggy learned and told Nancy, was that Mr Lisle believed that behind Mrs Groves was an organization led by a wealthy man who controlled things to his advantagea. Nancy, however, did not comment on Peggy's worried letter. That situation, Nancy felt, was her mother's business. Peggy had said Mrs Grove and her friends had increasingly little to do with the local community, and Nancy felt the same. If anything significant happened she was sure Peggy would tell her. In fact, she had forgotten to ring Mr Lisle when he had left her a message to do so a couple of times.   
  
Nancy was increasingly contemptuous of Peggy. She still saw Peggy's interest in a dull thing like insurance as a betrayal of her being an Amazon pirate. Peggy was as bad as Titty and seemed as uninterested in having boy friends as Titty. Nancy decided that Titty had just been stringing her along and really had a boyfriend whom she did not want people to discuss. There had always been a side of Titty that she kept to herself.   
  
Nancy's musings made her think better about having invited Titty to Borrowdale, but she went ahead with making the arrangements. She had rung Peggy, who said she could probably arrange to spend some part of a week in Borrowdale, which suited Nancy admirably. She wrote to Titty proposing dates and began to make her plans. Had either Peggy or Titty had known what they were, they would not have been so happy about the holiday at all.  
  
Nancy did not care. She had her life to lead, and by gum she intended to lead it. 


	11. Titty - A Visit to Borrowdale

Titty gathered up her heavy rucksack with its big coil of rope resting across the top. She had a small bag too, that contained her emergency food supplies should she need them. The information Nancy supplied was a little sparse: all Titty knew was that they would stay at a Mrs Lewthwaite's, and climb in Borrowdale. It was almost as though Nancy herself had misgivings about this holiday together. Nonetheless Titty had been pleased to come away, and for once she had not brought work with her. If Peggy came as expected on Wednesday, then they would be walking not climbing, and that would suit her very well. She was in truth rather sad not to be arriving in Windermere as if she was staying with the Jacksons, and she would miss the old station master's welcome. 

Titty found it hard to understand how Nancy and Peggy had come to such an impasse with their mother, but then Mrs Walker had never even mentioned getting boyfriends, let alone suggesting one should get married. But Titty was newly conscious that there were vast differences in upbringing, now, between the Blacketts and the Walkers. She knew that Mummy and Daddy expected a rather different standard of behaviour to that expected of Peggy and Nancy. Their mother, so far as she could tell, never told them off about anything, let alone anything specific. Her mother and her father saw to it that all the Walker children were always polite and behaved responsibly. Titty was certain they could all remember occasions when they fell below the standards expected of them. Nonetheless she could not envisage falling out with the best of all natives. But on the other hand the Walkers were allowed, even encouraged, to do things, sometimes risky things. If one went a bit wrong then they would talk it over and that would be it. Even now John was the youngest of the three fellows sailing the Sinbad back from Singapore. 

It seemed the differences between the Walkers and the Blacketts were becoming more evident as they grew older. Titty had told Nancy she had no boyfriends and that was true, in so far as the male friends she had gave her no sexual frission. But she had men who were very good friends. There was Basil and Christopher, and she had been on university climbing club meets and climbed regularly with Ralph. They climbed to the same standard, and liked climbing together, but there was no sexual feeling there between them. Titty considered Ralph a better climber than she was, but she was aware Ralph liked climbing with her because she was safe and meticulous about being secure. Anyway why shouldn't they enjoy each others' company without there being any sexuality between them? 

They talked together - of course they did. Ralph's experiences were very different from Titty's own. They both took a keen interest in current affairs and Ralph, too, had a different perspective on what was happening in Germany. While Titty was scared for her father and brothers, Ralph foresaw that were Hitler to conquer Britain he would make life dangerous for everyone who didn't support him. And Ralph fully expected to join the army in the event of war. But his experiences in the harsh jobs he did in vacation opened Titty's eyes to the jobs people did in the industrial sector, and she understand why he could be bolshie. Ralph, like Titty, had won a scholarshaip but he had to take jobs in the vacation to pay his way. She knew he had a steady girlfriend, a school love match, Maria, and was aware nobody in the climbing club thought of them as anything other than climbing partners so far as she knew. And away from climbing both were known to study hard. She knew very well that were her mother to get wind of the kind of behaviour with boys Nancy was getting up to, Titty would be in for a severe telling off. 

However, most important to her were her end of year results, newly out. Titty had, to her great relief, done very well in her examinations so she would return to Cambridge next year. 

As the train wound its way through the fells, which were bigger than those by the Windermere line, Titty began to anticipate her holiday. At last the little train pulled into the Keswick terminus, which was even smaller than Windermere. She slung her heavy rucksack on her back, picked up her bag and went out into the corridor to join the queue of people waiting to get off; at the ticket barrier she proffered her ticket and looked for Nancy. 'If I'm not waiting for you then catch the Borrowdale bus.' Nancy had written. Nancy was not there, and somehow Titty was not altogether surprised she wasn't. She made her way through the little old fashioned town to the bus station. There, she did not have to wait long for the bus. She asked the conductor if he knew Mrs Lewthwaite's farm, saying, "It is where I'm staying. If you know it, could you please tell me when we reach the stop?"

"Ah," he said, "You're staying with Mrs Lewthwaite." He looked at Titty's small frame and the big rucksack. "You'll get well fed there. I'll put you off." 

Titty thought her landlady must be a relative of Mrs Blackett's cook. She wondered how Cook was getting on without Nancy and Peggy to grumble about. Despite all her grumbling she knew Cook liked her employer's harum scarum daughters, and had always ensured they were well fed. 

The old bus made its way slowly along the rough road beside the lake. Across the water were hills that stretched away into the distance, and on the eastern side the crags towered above the road. On the lake, someone was sailing a dinghy not far off the western shore. Some way beyond the end of the lake the conductor came down the bus, and standing by her shoulder he said, "It's the next stop, Missy."

Although there was no bus stop, the bus stopped at the end of a little lane. "Mrs Lewthwaite's on the left, about 400 yards up. Have a good holiday, love!"

Titty got off, followed the conductor's direction, and found the farm just as he had said she would. She knocked on the low green door and it was opened almost immediately by a small, smiling woman. "Welcome in. You'll be Titty Walker," she said immediately, "My sister-in-law described you to a 'T', even if you have grown up a bit." 

Titty followed her across the slate step into a flagged passage, with what was obviously the dining room on the left and a lounge on the right - it said so on the doors but Mrs Lewthwaite took her straight upstairs. She said, "I'll take you and show you to your room first. I had a guest who badly wanted a double room, so I've put you and Miss Nancy in separate single rooms. My sister-in-law said you wouldn't mind. Miss Nancy will be late tonight - did she tell you? Those Blackett girls," she said, shaking her head, and then she smiled at Titty. "Jack and I usually eat about 7, so I thought tonight you might like to eat with us rather than be in the dining room alone."

"Thank you very much, that would super." said Titty. 

There was something reassuringly familiar about the way she was being treated, it was so reminiscent of Mrs Jackson. Mrs Lewthwaite took her up two flights of steep stairs into the eaves of the farmhouse, to a small spotlessly clean room with a beautiful quilted bed cover. She said "I'll leave you to sort yourself out. Come down to the kitchen when you are ready and have some tea."

Titty was accustomed by now to organising herself. She put her clothes in the drawers, her books on the bedside table, and repacked her rucksack. Taking her map, she was soon making her way down stairs. She knocked softly on the kitchen door, and Mrs Lewthwaite opened it and invited her to sit her at the big farmhouse table. "You'll be wanting a tea and something to eat after your long journey." 

So Titty was soon sitting at the big farmhouse table, drinking a mug of strong hot tea and biting into a substantial chunk of Mrs Lewthwaite's version of Cook's fruitcake. It was just as good, the conductor was right she wasn't going to starve. Tea drunk,and cake eaten, she said, "I would like to go out and look around." 

Mrs Lewthwaite said, "That's fine. As I say we eat about 7, after I've served dinner to my other guests. You'll find there is a path that leads away from the farm up the fell, and there is a whole network of little paths on top which are shown on no map I know of."

She came to the door and saw Titty out, watching her walk away. Titty felt confident on the rough ground and quickly picked up speed. There was a map tucked into her pocket, and although the Borrowdale fells were unfamiliar Titty was confident of her ability to route find. The little path she took twisted and turned, following a beck through the wood, and then climbed steeply upwards. It was rough and very steep in places, but Titty passed a plaque about royalty, and on upwards to a rocky little summit called Kings' How. From there, she looked out over the lake. On every side the fells stretched as far as the eye could see. What a spot, thought Titty, it was glorious. She walked a little further on and sat down still thinking what a wonderful place it was. She opened the map, set it up against the compass, and worked from left to right to work out which peaks were which, thinking there were so many to do. 

When a cloud passed over the sun and the air was suddenly chilled, she glanced at her watch. If she was have a wash and change her blouse before dinner, it was time to go back. She had no difficulty in retracing her steps, scrambling down through the trees. In the porch of the farm there was a narrow bench and she sat there, took off her boots and put them under it, went in and climbed the stairs to her room and collected the towel and soap to have a good wash. Downstair,s she could hear the busy clatter of the meal being served and dishes being cleared away. There was no time to have a brief read before going downstairs, guests were already sitting in the lounge and Mrs Lewthwaite came through the kitchen door with a tray of cups and a teapot. 

"Go through into the kitchen," she said, "I'll be back in a jiff." She was carrying a tray through to her guests on which there was a silver coffee pot and pot of hot milk.

There was cutlery for five on the kitchen table in a heap, and six stout chairs, so Titty laid the table as best she could. A murmur of conversation wafted through the open door and she heard Mrs Lewthwaite laugh, a rich deep laugh. When she returned and saw the table was laid she said, "Thanks for making yourself useful, the cups and saucers are in yon dresser." 

Titty got them out; they were pottery, unlike the delicate china cups she had seen taken into the lounge. As she did so a small, vigorous looking man came into the kitchen, followed by a boy and a girl who looked a quite a few years younger than Titty. She stood up. He saw Titty and held out a horney hand, and Titty's was shaken by someone with a firm grip, "You'll be Miss Nancy's friend Titty." A pair of frank dark eyes scrutinised her, "Got you to work already, I see." The chuckle that followed was full of a warm friendliness.

Titty smiled at him and said, "Yes, that's right."

"This is Titty," he said to the children, "And this is Jim and Jessica, but we call her Jess." 

The youngsters, sunburnt, rosy cheeked and with bright eyes, smiled and shook hands solemnly with her. They sat down and were soon tucking into an ample stew, and began to question Titty about where she lived and what she did. They were interested and asked keen questions, and by the end of the meal they knew an awful lot about Titty and what she was studying, as well as what she did when she was not studying.

"You run too, don't you?" said Mr Lewthwaite, He saw Titty's face fall and laughed, "No, Miss Nancy did not say a word, but there can be only one Miss Walker who's small and looks like an elf and is pretty." 

Titty blushed. 

"I see I wasn't supposed to know that," he said with another chuckle. "You must remember up in these valleys there is not enough flat land for cricket or football though we play rugby league on the coast. Here it's climbing, walking and running."

"I don't think I'd be much good at fell running," said Titty.

Mr Lewthwaite caught her by surprise. "I don't see why not, Titty. You can't weigh that much more than Jess, a lot less than Miss Nancy from what I hear. Miss Peggy does alright south of Dunmail Rise, so why not?" 

Titty wondered how it was she was already Titty, not Miss Titty, but Mr Lewthwaite referred to Miss Nancy and Miss Peggy; that was the way it stayed.

"Go on with you, Titty's here to have a holiday with Miss Nancy," Mrs Lewthwaite said.

Titty had begun to relax. She was finding this warm, blunt speaking family fun. They seemed to know an awful lot about her. Mrs Blackett's cook must have talked.

Mr Lewthwaite said, "Jess and Jim, Miss Titty runs fast and wins important races."

Titty protested, "I'm not that good." 

But Mr Lewthwaite looked at her and grinned and she knew it was no good trying to fool him. He went on, "There's plenty of climbing here, not far from the farm. Do you know where Miss Nancy's going to take you, up Falcon Crag I expect? Still there won't be much climbing when Miss Peggy comes and Miss Nancy goes home. From what you've told us I should imagine you'll be more than a match for Miss Nancy." 

It was the first time that Titty heard that Nancy was going home mid week, but it seemed it was all arranged. 

After the meal Titty had a walk down to the lake. It was a glorious summer evening, and it was lovely to be back in the Lake country. 

Past 9 o'clock, Nancy arrived in her little car, but she did not give a reason for her lateness and quickly turned into her own room. She made no arrangements to make an early start, so their breakfast was served in the dinning room at nine. Over bacon and fresh-laid eggs, Nancy told Titty she had in mind to do climbs on Falcon Crag just as Mr Lewthwaite had supposed. 

When they left the farm at about half past 10, Nancy drove up along the lake to a rough lay-by and they climbed up a narrow little path to the crag. There several others already climbing, but no one was on the easier of the two climbs, the one Nancy had in mind. She led the climb without much difficulty and as was to be expected was climbing fast, but she did not use a sling. It was not what Titty was used to with Ralph, and she followed Nancy's lead very carefully indeed. It was lunchtime by the time they got down, and they bit into Mrs Lewthwaite's sandwiches and drank their lemonade. There was another chunk of fruit cake. Titty said, "This is just like Cookie's."

Nancy said, "I suppose it is, I didn't notice." Nancy asked Titty if she had gone into Keswick last night, and was surprised when she said she hadn't. She commented "No good going there tonight since it's Sunday." 

The second climb was harder, much harder, and Nancy was repulsed twice before she gave up. She said, "You have a try. If you get stuck we'll try something else." 

Titty looked up. The first pitch did not seem too demanding, and she climbed slowly to a stance using three slings before bringing Nancy up.

"Jibooms and bobstays," said Nancy, "You made that look blooming easy. But why on earth did you use all these?" She handed over the tangled slings.

Titty said quietly, "I've used slings since Mary took us to Langdale and suggested we ought to use them. It's safer."

Nancy said, "Well, I'm doing the next pitch for sure." She was not far up when she slowed up, but went on after a bit. She brought Titty up the first pitch, and then set out again. Very quickly, the rope stopped running out, and a few mild curses floated down the crag. Finally Nancy retreated, sliding down the last few feet. She said, "I couldn't do that, it it's very hard. If you can't do it we'll have to abseil off." She breathed heavily for a bit and went on, "I don't think you'll crack it. Shall we go down?" 

Titty wasn't having that. She said decisively, "No, I'll have a go. I think I can do it, I've read this one up." She set off slowly as before, and then more quickly. The rock felt solid and warm under her grip, she didn't stop, and was now climbing quite fast. She was angry and fed up, for abseiling off without giving the route a good try was not why she'd come up to Borrowdale. When she reached the top of the climb she belayed and called Nancy up. 

Nancy took a long time, and asked for a tight rope once. She handed Titty her slings with, "I can't think why you use so many of these. It was taking these off that meant I needed a top rope."

Titty made no comment. They scrambled down to their rucksacks and had another sandwich and a chunk of fruitcake. Titty said, "She must have got Cookie's recipe. I wonder if she would give it to me?" 

Nancy said, "I suppose it is. I had forgotten that Mrs Lewthwaite is Cookie's sister-in-law." Then she asked out of the blue, "How is Roger getting on with that car? Has he raced it yet?" 

Titty said, "They took it to a field meet. There were other boys who had built cars there, and it beat the others, all of them,"

Nancy said, "Wow, that's really something. Was Roger driving?"

Titty said, "Oh no, one of his friends drove it. But Roger was working on it all the time and it did really well. The master was really pleased."

Nancy went back to an old theme, "I can't understand him. I'd want to drive it, especially after doing all the work he's done."

Titty said, "Rogie's just not interested in that, he drives it, but only when he wants to find out things about how it works. When they were competing one school's car's brakes failed, and Rogie fixed them."

Nancy's comment was, "How silly, didn't his mates complain that he was helping the opposition?"

"Certainly not, they were pleased Roger had solved the problem. He even showed the other team how they could make their car go faster. Even the masters were impressed. When they got back to school he took the back axle off his car and improved it. It went better still," Titty said indignantly, remembering fondly how Roger would emerge from under the car dirty and tousled and pleased with himself. She went on, "Mummy and Daddy have bought him more tools for his birthday."

"Does he know anything about aero engines? I bet he doesn't!" said Nancy.

Titty wasn't having that. She replied, "I think Rogie could learn anything that involved engines. He's been maintaining the Goblin's Billy for ages."

Nancy ignored what Titty said and went on almost angrily, "I just cannot understand Roger not racing his car. He should get on with racing it, not just messing about with his head in an engine and his hands covered in oil and grease. He's just being stupid; he should get on with winning and stop being so boring. He's as bad as you and Peggy."

Titty saw no point in pursuing the matter further, and she forbore to point out that without Roger working on the engine and other parts there would be no car at all. 

Nancy said abruptly, "We won't do anymore today, I've had enough."

"All right," said Titty, "Shall we go and dump this stuff in your car and go for a walk? I went up Kings How yesterday, but I don't mind doing it again."

"No, we'll go back to the farm and I'll have a rest and then we'll have dinner. I'll climb better tomorrow." 

They were back at the farm before four, and were given tea but no cake. Nancy disappeared to her bedroom, telling Titty she intended getting her head down. Titty collected a book and wandered down to the lakeside and read. She returned to the farm just before 6 to find Nancy already sitting in the dinning room where their dinner was to be served. 

After dinner Nancy started on about Roger again, "I know he's still at school, but has he got girlfriends? Surely he must have."

Titty said quietly, "Not so far as I know."

Nancy went on, "But he's going to car races, and there must be lots of pretty girls wanting to be taken out by a racing car driver. The most glamorous girls go to the races."

Titty just laughed at her, "What girl wants to try and go out with a chap who spends his time with his head in an engine, or under a car, whose clothes look like dungarees and has probably got grease in his hair? Besides, this isn't motor racing. This is a farmer's field where they have permission to test their cars. Roger just likes engines, any sort of engine." She said it with emphasis.

"What about John, what's he up to?" Nancy said, clearly giving up on Roger.

Titty answered, "When John was in the China Seas, he seemed to be constantly at sea. He no sooner arrives back into port than they change his ship and he's sent back out to sea again. But he found time to buy that ketch with some colleagues, as I told you. He's now somewhere off the Azores in it, on the way back to England."

He's where?" asked Nancy, startled.

"He's in the Atlantic off the Azores, the last we heard. He had hoped to be nearer Plymouth by now but they were held up in Rio, and then there was a big storm in the South Atlantic. Mummy was worried, but they survived that intact. A destroyer on exercise saw them, otherwise we wouldn't know that much. I told you he might do it last year, and now he has." Titty said with real pride in her voice, "John usually does the things he sets his mind to do."

"You Swallows, you do do things. Yes I remember now, I thought it was just talk. I never thought John would really do it," said Nancy. "Are you planning a big reception when he gets here? I'd want to have all the flags out and big crowds to cheer me home. Surely John must have a girl friend? Will she be at the reception party?"

"And that," said Titty acidly, "Is just what John would hate most of all. If he had his way he'd sneak into Plymouth with no more fuss than if he had sailed across the channel. You know how he hates being the centre of attention for the things he does. If he had his way he'd moor up,and swab down, coil the ropes and leave everything ship shape, and go off into town and have a meal. Then, get on with the next thing there is to do. And so far as I know John hasn't a girl friend, I'm not sure he'd tell me if he had. Certainly, as far as I know, there are no plans for a reception, and if there is to be one I don't know about it. I hope there isn't, he'd hate it."

"You Swallows." Nancy said crossly. 

Titty said, "Now, come on and tell me more about what you do. All you've told me so far is that you do lots of flying. What sort of people want to be taken from place to place? What happens to the parcels you carry? Why are people prepared to pay you lots of money to take them, when they could send them by mail?"

Nancy got started. She told Titty about the doctors, and how their posh customers were always were wanting attention and needing to be flown all over the place, often it seemed for no reason at all. She did not really know why people used their services to fly parcels, but she remembered Jim McCarthy telling her about an urgent job flying machinery parts to be fitted to a ship's engine, so that it could sail that evening. And how a part for a machine might hold up a production line, so she told Titty about that. Then she was stumped when Titty began to ask for details of the places she visited. She had to admit she just went to her lodgings and then to a hotel restaurant, ate and had a glass of wine and perhaps talked to the people she met. "It is all on expenses, of course, but I have to be a bit abstemious," she said regretfully. But Nancy soon got fed up, said she was tired, and went to bed. 

Titty was aware of having upset Nancy in some way with her questions, but she could not think why. The last thing Nancy said was, "I'll see you at breakfast about 9. We'll do a big climb tomorrow."

So it was gone 10 before they arrived at the bottom of a big crag, nearer the farm than Falcon Crag. Nancy had chosen the longest climb in the book, a Very Difficult with five difficult pitches, and after the previous day Titty was not altogether looking forward to the route, but accepted that Nancy would want to lead. 

When they were ready, Nancy romped up the first pitch without difficulty, but the second was harder and it made her cross, especially when Titty climbed easily. On the next pitch Nancy was thwarted, and let Titty have a try. The crux was at the top, but Titty had fitted a sling just below it and climbed over without too much difficulty. It took Nancy a long time to climb up to Titty. She insisted in trying to leaad the next pitch, but was foiled and was forced to retreat. Titty was bored, climbed it fast, and brought Nancy up to the stance. The next and last pitch was the longest, and the crux was half way up. Titty gave Nancy no choice this time and climbed away, finding the crux thirty feet above their last stance. It was a difficult set of moves, and Titty studied it for a few minutes. Nancy called up, "Are you coming down?"

"No," Titty shouted down. She climbed the crux slowly, but without stopping, fixed a runner and climbed on. The last three moves were quite hard, but she climbed on to the stance and belayed. "Climb when you're ready!"

Nancy shouted up, "You took your time over that. I'm climbing." 

The wait seemed ages, and twice Nancy had to ask for a tight top rope. When she finally climbed on to the stance she was breathless and stood breathing heavily for some minutes, Then she said, "I did it. They've marked it as a VD, but I think it was VS." 

Titty had done several VS climbs with Ralph and knew that climb wasn't, but she did not say anything. They scrambled back down to their cached rucksacks and had their sandwiches and cake. While they were sitting eating, two lads who had just finished a route appeared, collected their own rucksacks and sat down close by. It was Nancy who initiated the conversation about what they had climbed. They told Nancy and Titty about the climb they had just done. "It was a splendid climb," one of them told Nancy, "quite long, and not all that difficult, but it really is a good romp."

Nancy went on to talk about what she and Titty had climbed, and she managed somehow to make it sound as though they had done more than they had. Titty was at a loss to understand how she could make it sound that way. The lads had done two biggish climbs already and intended to do two more before they finished. They advised Nancy and Titty that there was an interesting little climb that was reasonably difficult on the left of the crag, with an easy way off. 

So Nancy decided that they would do that route. They went over, and Nancy set off determined to lead this climb. All went well to start with, and Nancy grew in confidence and climbed on until she reached the crux. This time she was determined to crack it. She was repulsed twice, and then suddenly her confidence returned and she did scrambled up. She found a place where she could just stand, belayed, and brought up Titty. It was a very difficult spot but between them Titty succeeded in securing a belay and Nancy climbed on. Titty was not very happy, since the belay did not seem that secure. Nancy had two more goes at the next pitch and failed each time, once coming down to the belay, and then had another go and was successful. Titty thought they should go down then, but Nancy was insistent they continue and that Titty have a go at the second crux. 

To Nancy's fury, Titty insisted that Nancy tie on before she undid her belay. It took a long time on the small stance. Then Nancy insisted that Titty belay immediately past the crux. So Titty climbed the crux, 20' or so up from their stance, and as Nancy demanded she belayed. Then she more or less hauled Nancy up. Two routes led off the stance, a difficult one and an easier one. Nancy chose the easier route and soon climbed to next stance, then brought Titty up. They scrambled off, and then back down to their rucksacks. Nancy slung her rucksack on her back and said, "Now I need a drink, and we'll be going to the hotel tonight as soon as we've had dinner." 

With that she plunged down the little path to the road. In silence, Nancy drove back to the farm and they just had time to wash, change and went down to dinner, just as Nancy wanted. Then Nancy drove them both to the hotel down the road, where they went in and found a table. Nancy ordered a beer for herself and a soft drink for Titty. They had been sitting there chatting for 15 or 20 minutes when a familiar voice said, "Titty Walker! What are you doing here?" 

Titty looked up, and Christopher was standing beside her chair. Basil, tall, quiet, and still dressed in his climbing jacket was making his way towards them. Titty stood up and smiled, and Chris said, "Climbing, I suppose? And this is Nancy?" and shook hands with her.

"Yes, this is Nancy," said Titty. "Nancy, this is Christopher and this is Basil." 

They both said "Hallo."

Basil asked, "What have you done today?"

Titty told him, and Basil said, "That sounds a bit tame for you, haven't you done more?" His eyes met hers, while Nancy stood waiting to say more.

Titty said, "It's all we wanted to do today." She knew he had caught the inflexion in her voice, and went on, "Where have you been, or need I ask?"

Christopher said, "Sca Fell, you know how much we enjoy it. But we're only just back and we're starving, so maybe we'll see you another day. Although we go home on Wednesday morning, so if we don't see you before then it'll be next Monday when we set off for Wales. Basil will collect you from Shotley, won't you, old chap?"

"Titty, do I have to have a password or something to get in to see you?" Basil asked. 

"No," Titty said, "Just ask for me, the porters will know you're coming, they'll tell you how to reach me."

Christopher said smiling, "Notorious already." He chuckled at Titty's embarrassment. 

"Cherrio, see you sometime, bye both!" said Christopher. 

Nancy was about to say something, but they were already disappearing out the door. She was furious when they sat down. "Titty! How could you let them get away like that? There you have the two best looking men around here at your feet, and you let them off the hook."

Titty was utterly bewildered, "What was I supposed to do?"

Nancy was utterly scornful, as she might have been when they were sailing, "Do?" she said angrily, "Arrange to meet them later. Made a date for tomorrow. Say we'll meet them for dinner tomorrow night. Instead you let them drift off like that."

Titty was angry in her turn, "They're not boyfriends, and they climb to a far higher standard than we are. It would be wrong to lumber them with us." 

Nancy was not mollified, "You're just a fool. Letting them get away like that, they gave you the perfect opening. We could have had a great time together. Did that Basil say he was picking you up on Monday? I thought you told me you hadn't got a boyfriend?"

"Basil's a friend," Titty said angrily, "But not a boyfriend!" She took a deep breath, and said, "He's taking four of us to North Wales for a week's camping, and to do some climbing and walking there. I know him and Chris because we do Japanese together at Cambridge. Nancy, I'm not interested in boyfriends. At all." 

Nancy did not finish her drink but stalked out, nor did she speak to Titty on the way back to Mrs Lewthwaite's. There she said harshly, "I'll see you tomorrow. We'll do the climb those lads did when they left us. I'll see you at breakfast." She paused, and then added, "That was a dull place. I'd forgotten just how dull these places can be. We'll go somewhere else tomorrow. Keswick is livelier." And with that, Nancy stormed upstairs.

Titty still could not understand what she had done wrong, but Nancy was obviously furious with her. 

But at breakfast Nancy seemed to have recovered her temper, and they went back to the crag where they had climbed the day before. The two lads were there again, and so were two other parties, but their route was free. They shared the lead, and seemed to Titty that Nancy was climbing better than the previous two days. After lunch they had a go at the other climb the lads had done, but Nancy wanted Titty to lead it all the way. Titty could hear her talking to the two lads who had reappeared and were about to have a crack at a VS. route next door. After their own second pitch, she and Nancy heard a shout from below asking for a top rope. The lads had got stuck on the VS. In the end, Titty had had to leave Nancy belayed, and make a traverse to a position where she could lower a top rope to them. She brought them up one at a time, and then they followed her across the traverse to where Nancy was still waiting. When they got there one of them said to Titty, "Thanks. I wouldn't have wanted to lead that traverse. You're a better climber than us. We watched, and you didn't seem to make any fuss about it."

Titty finished the climb, but they did no more that day. There was a little time left, so when Nancy and Titty got back they sat outside the farm in the sunshine. Titty asked Nancy, "Now that you've got your own aircraft to fly, what happens next?"

"Well first, I hope the company will make me a partner. I know they are thinking about it. Then I think the business will grow and grow, so my salary should increase. If the rise is as big as I hope it will be I can tell the trustees I don't need my allowance. And if the business goes on getting bigger and bigger, as I'm sure it will, then we'll buy bigger and faster aircraft. We might run regular passenger services, and carry lots of passengers." Nancy told Titty. She went on and said, "Carl Callender deals with all the office work now and deals with all the money. He does my tax as well, and knows about my allowance, When Peggy comes, don't tell her I get it."

"Is it safe to let him deal with all that money?" asked Titty.

"Oh yes, he's a big softy; he takes time off to look after his sick wife and takes work home to do it. Like my tax. We check it of course and it's always right. He's a bit of a drip really, and lots older than me," Nancy told her

"Do you get an allowance?" asked Titty.

Nancy said rather easily, "Yes, of course, don't you?"

"No, I don't," said Titty rather hotly.

"How do you get by then, paying for books and stuff, and spending money?" Nancy asked.

"I have a scholarship, and if I do well it'll be renewed. And I do translation work for people, and I've won a couple of essay competitions. But I don't have very much spending money," Titty said.

Nancy went on, "Yes, well, Pegs and I have this fund which was set up by my father, and added to by an aunt, and then the Great Aunt lobbed in a bit more. I had an advance to buy my car, and I shall ask for another because I want to buy a house. I think they'll advance me money for that. There's quite a lot of money in the fund, and technically Peggy and I own Beckfoot, but mother is allowed to live in it till she dies. Are you sure you don't get an allowance?"

"Yes, of course I am," said Titty. 

"Oh, by the way," said Nancy, " I thought I'd tell Mrs Lewthwaite we don't want a meal tonight. We'll go to the hotel and have a meal with those two boys we met. I arranged it while you were climbing. Well, of course you don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Well I don't want to," said Titty stoutly. "I'd rather stay at Mrs Lewthwaite's. I'm very tired and I shall go to bed early." 

"You stick in the mud! Well, you won't mind if I go, you won't have to. Oh, and by the way I must slip out to the phone box and give work a call." Nancy went in and told Mrs Lewthwaite she would not be staying to dinner, and then went off to the telephone box. 

She came back to find Titty reading and said, "There's been an emergency at work. I've got to go back to Newcastle tomorrow morning, so I'll have an early breakfast in the morning and get off. You'll have a day alone, Pegs has got to work tomorrow, but she'll come across here after work. She should arrive about 8 tomorrow evening. So I might be off before you have your breakfast in the morning." 

Titty did not tell her Mrs Lewthwaite had asked her if she was going into Keswick. When she told her she wasn't Mrs Lewthwaite suggested Titty might like to eat with them, and would cottage pie do? That sounded much nicer than eating in the hotel dining room, and she had told Mrs Lewthwaite she'd love to with such enthusiasm that she had smiled and patted Titty's hand and said, "Thought you might." 

The marked differences between her two guests interested Mrs Lewthwaite. She had noticed Miss Nancy had brought an exciting penny novel to read, whereas the little girl from the south had a thick history book, one in French and another in what she thought was German. Miss Nancy seemed much more upfront, talkative, and gregarious.

At dinner Mr Lewthwaite talked about climbing in the valley and how it had upsides and downsides, and how there had been some nasty accidents. He seemed aware that Titty had met Basil and Christopher and it had upset Nancy. Titty wondered how he knew. It was like the Jacksons, the natives seemed to have an internal gossip network. Mr and Mrs Lewthwaite did not miss much. 

Titty told them she would like to have her breakfast early with Nancy as she would like to be off out, and catch a bus up the valley. Mr Lewthwaite asked her if she knew where she would be going, and Titty gave him the route she intended to use. She looked at him questioningly, and he said, "This is quite stiff, but you should do it and be back for 7, a girl like you.. If you get really tired there's a late bus down the valley." 

He told his wife that the little lass has every intention of making a really long day of her day by herself. "But I think she's tougher than she looks. I'll tell Arthur about her, and he'll keep a look out for her no doubt."

In the morning Nancy was nowhere to be seen, Titty had breakfast with the Lewthwaites, and Nancy still hadn't appeared when it was time to go for the bus. Mrs Lewthwaite told her Nancy had come in long after she thought Titty was asleep. So Titty caught the bus to Seathwaite, and set off up a steep path on over Base Brown and Green Gable. From there she dropped down to Sprinkling Tarn. Then she walked along the corridor route, and climbed up on to Sca Fell. There she found Charles and Basil, and they had a sandwich or two together. They did not seem surprised that Nancy wasn't with her, and asked no questions. After lunch, they went off to do another climb, and Titty took the path down to Esk Hause. It had been a bit drizzly in the morning and misty on Green Gable, and the corridor route had been in shade, but now the sun was out. At Esk Hause, instead of returning to Seathwaite, she went off across Allen Crags. There she stopped off for more to eat, and went on along the little winding path to Glaramara. 

Coming down, the track came out on the road, and Titty set out determinedly to walk along it. Following her map, sometimes she took paths to the left and the right. There was one that led past a big stone, and another that led down to the riverside, but by now she was tired and was glad when she got to the track that led to the farm. She got back just before 6.30, and Mrs Lewthwaite insisted she had a mug of tea and a piece of cake before she went for a wash. She told Titty that Miss Peggy should be here any minute. Peggy, Mrs Lewthwaite said, "Rung up to ask if I could give her a meal, so I told her we'd all eat together." 

Just after that Peggy arrived and went upstairs to change into comfortables. Mr Lewthwaite came in grinning, and said to his wife, "I warned Arthur, and he caught up with her on Sca Fell where she met those two climbing lads with the Jaguar. They made short work of a few sandwiches and she did exactly what she told me. Arthur reckons she's a tough lass, set quite a pace apparently."

"I'm not surprised I think she got fed up with that young limb, Miss Nancy." said Mrs Lewthwaite.

Titty and Peggy enjoyed their meal with the Lewthwaites. It was very plain, but there was plenty of it and they were hungry. Mr Lewthwaite told them he had to go to Swinside in the morning, and he could take them with him and drop them off somewhere near Braithwaite. From there they could walk on up Coledale, or over Robinson and then perhaps on to Dale Head and off Cat Bells. From there, they could catch the boat across the lake to Lodore. Peggy and Titty chose to do the Robinson walk, so he agreed to drop them off near Newlands Church. 

It dawned a glorious day, blue sky and bright sunshine. With one of Mrs Lewthwaite's breakfasts inside them Peggy and Titty felt ready for anything. They were high on the fell before most walkers were about. Up onto the ridge they climbed, and then followed the wriggling path, first slightly one side of the ridge and then on the other. They climbed the rock step. They did not stop until they reached the summit cairn. From there, they went on a bit, and found a rock to stop where they could look down into Buttermere and open their packed lunches. 

Peggy asked, "How's Roger getting on with that car of his? Has he finished tinkering with it?"

"No," Titty said, smiling at the thought of her tousle headed brother, who was probably this moment covered in grease and oil, "I don't think he ever will. Daddy arranged he could use a shed at Shotley and so the car's near home. He's for ever thinking of improvements he can make. The Navy engineers are interested, and come in and make suggestions, and help him. It goes really well now."

"What will he do with himself after school?" Peggy asked.

"He's set his heart on becoming a marine engineer. It means he'll join either the navy or the merchant marine in order to get training. I think he'll choose the merchant marine, because he wants to do something different from John." Titty told her.

"And will he do it?" asked Peggy

"Yes he will," said Titty, "He did well in the exams this year. He's really worked hard at subjects he never bothered with a couple of years ago. He played a bit of cricket in the summer term, but basically he studied. He'd like to do a year out doing something physically demanding. I am sure he knows what, but he hasn't told me, although I think he's told Mummy. But what about you? How are you getting on in Kendal?" 

Peggy said, "I'm really enjoying it. The company helps me a lot, they pay my tuition fees, and I did quite well in the exams this year. I work for Mr Richardson and he asks me to do things that normal secretaries don't do, and that helps. I'm the only girl in the class."

"How do the men treat you?" asked Titty. 

Peggy said, "Very well, but I'm regarded as a bit of a curiosity, which is useful sometimes and at others just a nuisance. Nancy thinks I'm stupid to do such a fusty job. The truth is I enjoy it. At school I was always in Nancy's shadow, now I can be me. I like living quietly with the Pounds and looking after myself. I like cooking, doing a bit of running and going into Kendal on Saturday afternoon and having coffee with the girls from the office. Nancy is terribly scornful and seems to think I've let her down."

Titty told her, "She was on at me about having boyfriends and could not understand how I could have men with whom I'm, well, just friends."

Peggy said, "Tell me about John?" 

"John's off the Azores," Titty told her, "In that ketch he bought. He and his friends are sailing her home."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit, I knew he'd do what he said he would. John's just that sort of person." Peggy smiled, and went on, "And he hates being the centre of attention almost as much as you. How do you know where he is?"

"They met a destroyer, and the captain told Daddy. John gave us a timetable, too. He hoped to be back in England lots earlier, but they got held up in Rio. I don't know what happened. Then there was a bad storm in the South Atlantic and we worried they might not have survived, but the destroyer found them more or less by luck. It was too dangerous for them to get alongside, so the crew lowered a boat and took them some fresh food. He hopes to arrive in Plymouth in September."

They swung their rucksacks on their backs and set off along the Littledale ridge, detouring to the summit of Hindscarth, and then on to Dale Head where they stopped and had more to eat and an apple. Peggy said, "How about you, did you do well in the exams at the end of term?"

Titty realized there was no point in trying to fob Peggy off, so she told her, "I did a lot better than I expected, but I'd worked hard and I got high marks which I needed. It's important to do well so that they renew my grant. And I've done a long essay for a competition and submitted another. That one's for a three week course on languages in Switzerland."

Peggy said, "Surely you'll get what you want?"

Titty smiled at Peggy's confidence in her and said, "The course is a much higher standard than university, and I'll be very lucky if I manage to go this year. I could if Mummy and Daddy paid, but we haven't enough money for that, so I have to win the scholarship if I want to go. The scholarship would pay for all the tuition and the accommodation, then we'd only have to pay for travel to Lausanne. I'd love to go."

"I bet you do, you're like John, by working hard and giving up things other girls would not, you do what you want," said Peggy.

Titty said, "That makes me sound a bit of a swot. But I enjoy the work, so why shouldn't I. Nancy thought I was terribly dull."

They went on, stopping to look down the long Newlands Valley and across to the Cat Bells ridge. After scrambling down to Dalehead Tarn, they toiled up the winding path to the summit of High Spy, the last serious up where the going was a bit slower. Then they walked on to Maiden Moor and Cat Bells, where there were more people about, visitors and locals who had caught the boat from Keswick or cycled. By now they knew they could do the walk and be in time to catch the boat to Lodore. Titty, who had been worried, guessed Peggy had obviously done more walking than she was letting on. 

They had a long walk the next day over the lower fells above Derwentwater. Then on Friday Mr Lewthwaite was going back to Swinside, so they were dropped off in Braithwaite and did the Coledale horseshoe. They hadn't much breath left when they climbed to the summit of Grisedale Pike, but by then they knew they could both walk longish distances without too much difficulty. They were eating lunch and looking across to the great mass of Blencathra and Skiddaw when Peggy suddenly said, "What does your father say about whether there will be a war?"

"Daddy talked about it before he went to the China Seas, when we had a holiday on the Goblin. He thinks that there will be a war with Germany and with Japan. He's gloomy, he thinks we are not prepared and not doing enough. John's done lots of research about submarine warfare, and his report frightens me. But then there is Japan, and when Roger said he thought Japan was a backward country Daddy said he thought Japan had lots of experience at going to war and had good well trained soldiers."

"None of that sounds very happy. What do you think?" Peggy asked.

"I'm scared," said Titty. "I think Hitler is a very dangerous man, and I don't like the newspaper reports about how he treats anyone who doesn't support him. We don't seem to know what he's really doing. And now I study Japanese we read the Japanese press, and they are so focussed on military achievement. I hate it. It means Daddy and John and even Roger will be at sea and fighting, and if ships are sunk in battles most sailors are drowned. No fighting ship can stop and pick them up."

Peggy looked at Titty and said, "That is something I'd never thought of."

Titty asked, "What does Nancy really think? When we talked about it last she was sure that there wouldn't be a war at all. To be honest, I thought she hadn't thought about it much."

Peggy said, "Like you, I think there will be a war, and like you I think Hitler's horrible, but we don't know much about it. I hadn't thought about ships being sunk. Nancy still thinks we're silly, she thinks that Oswald Moseley is the man for the future. She believes that businesses will get bigger and bigger and richer and richer and so will she. She does not believe there will be a war, but I don't think she opens a newspaper very often, if at all. She is awfully confident about the whole thing. She expects that business of theirs will grow and grow. I hope it will, because it will make her happy."

"She told me she's had lots of wage increases, is that right?" asked Titty.

Peggy told her, "She has, and she is earning loads of money, lots more than me anyway."

Titty said, "She told me she was expecting to be made a partner, and that the business would grow and grow, and they would buy new and bigger aircraft for passengers as well as parcels."

Peggy looked at her and smiled rather grimly, "I know. I've heard it all. But I've talked about it to Mr Richardson at least twice. He thinks it is possible, but there are lots of problems as a company grows bigger. There all sorts of dangers. I've talked to Nancy and I know she doesn't look after the money as carefully as she did when she went there first, she even lets this Carl do her taxes. I think that's silly. But I hope it all works out as she hopes, and Nancy has always been lucky. I don't know what she would do if things went wrong." 

As they walked on, Peggy started again, "From what Nancy has said I think that one of the partners, Pete, knows what he's about. I don't think he believes it's going to be as easy as Nancy thinks it will be."

Titty said, "Nancy told me about all the boyfriends she's had. Is it true?"

Peggy said, "Yes." She grimaced. "And she no sooner gives one up than she gets another."

Titty told her, "I met two men I know from university, and she was ever so angry because I didn't arrange we should all meet up. Then when we were climbing she chatted up two lads there, and on Monday night she went off to meet them. So because I wouldn't, she was cross about that too. I wanted to do Sca Fell that day, so I left before she had breakfast."

Peggy said nothing, but she pulled a very sympathetic face.

The last evening meal at the Lewthwaites was the best they had had, but they both had to pack as they both wanted to catch an early train home. On the station, Titty asked, "Peggy, does Nancy get at you about having boyfriends?" 

She answered, "Yes, Titty all the time, and I get fed up with it."

"Has she really had lots of boyfriends?" asked Titty.

"Yes, as I said yesterday, when she drops one she gets another and what she gets up to with them is nobody's business. I suppose it's OK. But amazingly, she has never made it with the chap she's really after, a man named Bernard. I've met him, he plays a lot of rugby and he's good at it, or so I believe. He's handsome, I suppose, though I didn't care for him much, a bit too much of a show off. But then I'm not Nancy. I think she should do as she wants, and I'm sure she will. She'll probably be much more successful than us and marry some rich bloke who has got a big business."

Titty was silent, and then said, "I expect she will, but I don't see why I have to be like her, I want to be me. But I really, really upset her when I wouldn't introduce her to Chris and Basil. But I know they were here to do some serious climbing; besides one of them's got a permanent girlfriend, who's very nice. I've met her, she doesn't like climbing at all, but she's a jolly good walker." 

Peggy told Titty, "Good for you. Whatever you do don't let Nancy bully you. She will try, just like the Great Aunt."

Titty laughed. The thought of Nancy being like Miss Turner was amazing, but she understood what Peggy meant. 

They caught the early London train at Carlisle. On the train, Peggy asked about Titty's running. Titty told her, "I won in Sheffield, and won again about three weeks later. I was well placed in a couple of college races, too, and then the cross country season ended. I'm not nearly as good a track runner as I am across country and I don't enjoy it so much either. Besides, I told the club that although I'd train a bit I would do no racing until the exams were over. Some of them were cross about that. But Mr Roberts, the lecturer who has most to do with us about running, backed me up so they laid off. I'm much keener to go, and to do well in Lausanne than run races. I'm booked to run two miles at Cambridge next week though. But, Peggy, how's your running up here going?" 

"You do do well. I do a bit, but I'm not a good cross country runner like you." said Peggy enviously.

Titty said, "You ought not to take to much notice of what sports journalists write, particularly about me. I don't think I'm as good as all that, certainly not as good as they make out. They like me because I'm small and pretty I suppose. I get fed up. Still it's not so bad this term when I've refused to compete. How have you been doing? Mr Lewthwaite said you'd had some successes."

Peggy said, "I had a second and a third at Coniston and Grasmere, which was smashing. I did a bit of cross country last year, and I'm a member of the regular team. But all that fuss about mother and getting used to looking after myself took its toll. I just enjoy running, and I like the crowd at Kendal. I get on well with the men, but I don't go to lots of dances like Nancy and I certainly haven't had any boyfriends. What about you? Are you having more holidays?" 

Titty told her, "I'm going to North Wales to do some climbing, with the University. That will be for a week or ten days, camping. But some of the men will go to climb in the Alps, in fact, some are already there. I was invited, but if I went I'd have no money for Lucerne. The chap I do most of my climbing with can't go to the Alps, though he's good enough. He's got a job all the summer instead. But he thinks he can come to Wales with us."

They went on talking about running and walking until they had nearly reached Oxenholm. Suddenly Peggy said, "I'd love to see John come in from his voyage. Perhaps they'd give me time off to see him come in."

"It won't be till September," said Titty, "But I'll let you know when it might be."

Peggy got off and stood on the platform, looking rather small and wistful, and Titty leaned out of the window to wave goodbye. Titty went on home reading and thinking about Nancy and Peggy. She was conscious that she had enjoyed her time with Peggy more than she had the time with Nancy. She decided that Nancy had grown up far more than she had, and was interested in different things. Besides Nancy had lots more money and could do things Titty couldn't afford and was unlikely to be able to afford, probably ever.

When Titty got home there was no inquest into what she'd done. Titty was glad. She felt as though she had frittered the first three days with Nancy, even though they had climbed some routes. But she had liked the Lewthwaites, and staying on the farm. 

There were three letters waiting for her. She opened Ralph's first, it was very short, just a list of the climbs he'd like to try and do in Wales. As she was reading it, Mrs Walker called up to say that Basil had rung up, saying he'd call just after 7 to confirm when he was picking her up to go to Wales. He had given her mother the registration of his MG saloon for the base guards. 

There was a letter from John postmarked from the Azores. It told her that the delay in Rio was because his friends had got into trouble, and he'd had to pay a bribe to get them out of prison. Then there had been the big storm which John thought they were lucky to survive. He wrote that his friends expected there to a big fuss about their return, and the navy were expected to prepare a reception and fanfare at Portsmouth when they arrived in early September. John had written, "If I'd had my way we would have slipped into Plymouth, tied up, swabbed down and gone home. I'm longing to sleep in a proper bed and eat some meals made by you and Mummy." It was not a very happy letter, and Titty hoped John was having a better time now. 

The last letter was from Lucerne, and Titty had left it till last because she hardly dare open it. Having read John's letter a second time, she could not put it off any longer. She slit the big envelope and read the first few lines, and then the second paragraph of the letter inside. So relieved and happy she was breathless, she let out a whoop of joy that brought Roger pounding upstairs and stopped Bridget's mandolin mid-bar. Without a thought Titty hugged Roger and fled downstairs to bury her face in her mother's shoulder and weep, while her mother laughed at her, telling her she was silly fool. Titty would be going to Lucerne, and the Swiss college would pay all her expenses while she was there. So she could really go! Roger came downstairs bringing the letter. He said, "Cor, Mummy just read this, she's gone and done it now." 

Titty was very pleased with the walking she had done on holiday, when she had walked in areas she had never seen before. She'd done enough to be fit for her trip to Wales, and John would soon be safe home....And she'd be going to Lucerne.


	12. John Comes Home

Nancy left Mrs Lewthwaite's much later than she had intended, but she was back in Newcastle just after lunch time. At the airfield, they were pleased to see her, and sent her straight off to Glasgow with a parcel. She returned with another which was a set of drawings, and when she got back to Newcastle there was a car waiting to collect them.

On Thursday she was ready early to fly Mr Hindley down to Canterbury, and then after an hour or so there on to Croydon, where Nancy spent the night. Then, to her surprise, for she thought she would be flying Mr Hindley home, he asked to be taken to Nottingham, and then to a little place just outside York, another night in lodging for Nancy. Early in the morning, she flew Mr Hindley back to Newcastle before the rest of the company staff got in. Mark and Pete had been expecting her back on Friday, and were none too pleased with her not calling in. Fridays were always busy at the best of times, and there always seemed to be more work than the pilots could cover. There were always people who wanted to travel and parcels to deliver and collect. It was not unknown for any of them to fly with one parcel on the passenger seat and another shoved behind their seat in the cockpit. 

That Friday they had had great difficulty in covering the work that they had accepted. Nancy told Pete and Mark that she would be more careful in future, but since Mr Hindley's fee was considerable she wasn't that apologetic. Besides she worked hard for the partnership. She had returned from holiday early at their request, and she enjoyed flying Mr Hindley about, so why shouldn't she do as she wished sometimes? 

Together they reviewed June's business, and despite Nancy's three day holiday the results were very satisfactory. Nancy said, "I want some more time off in September."

"Gosh," said Pete with a grin, "The woman's for ever wanting time off.What are you up to now?"

"You know I've talked about the Walker family and your Dad, Mark, has met Commander Walker a couple of times," said Nancy.

"Yes," said Mark.

"Well, John, the eldest brother, has been sailing a little ketch back from Singapore to England. He's due back in Plymouth sometime in September. I won't know what day until later. I'd like to see him arrive."

Pete said, "Did you say he's sailing from Singapore?"

Nancy said, "Yes, that's right."

Mark said, "Gosh, how big a crew? How big is this boat, for goodness sake?"

Nancy told them, "There are two others in the crew, besides John, and the Sinbad's under 40 feet long."

Pete said, "My word. That doesn't sound the kind of thing for the faint hearted. What does this John do?"

Nancy said, "John followed his father into the navy, and he's been serving in the China Seas. His ship crew there all knew they would be posted back to England sooner or later, so they happened on the idea of sailing back from Singapore. As for being faint hearted, John was never that. I'd like to go and see him arrive back in Plymouth. I'd love to watch him appear out of the distance."

Mark said, "I am sure we can arrange it somehow. About when in September is he likely to arrive?"

"John's sister Titty said it would be in the early in the month. That's as near as they can get." 

Later the next week she flew in from Preston to find Mark in the office. He asked, "Hi, heard any more about when John will arrive?"

Nancy asked, "Why, is September looking busy? Can't I have the time off?"

Mark went on, "Well, yes, September does look busy, but Pete and I met up at Bagington and talked about it. We were wondering whether we'd all go, because we'd like to see a little sailing ship arrive back from such a brave voyage. Do you think that would be alright?" 

"I don't see why not. But John is just like my friend Titty, he hates a fuss being made of him. Titty told me what he'd really like to do is slip into Plymouth, tie up, swill down, and go for a pint and a meal. When he was in Singapore he won lots of dinghy races and cups and things, but he never even told Titty about it, though they are very close. The Walkers are always during things, adventurous things, it was the way they were brought up."

Mark said, "Well, I can't speak for Pete, but that makes me all the keener to see him come in." 

Nancy said, "I think Titty's at home this week. I'll give her a ring and see if I can find out any more."

On Saturday when they met up again, Nancy was able to tell Pete and Mark, "I spoke to Titty, and we would be welcome. She says there will be a reception at Plymouth, and it won't be long. The navy say the Sinbad is in the Bay of Biscay. Titty'll be away next week, climbing in North Wales, but she'll be in touch Monday week."

"Climbing again," said Mark, "I can't wait to meet this girl, I've always envisaged climbers as being big chaps."

Nancy told him, "I don't like to admit it, but when I was away with her it was rather obvious she is a far better climber than I am. She has the confidence to do things I just couldn't do. Although she has done more climbing than I have, going out with from the university climbing club."

The following Tuesday Nancy was able to report that John was expected to arrive at about the 2nd September, although the Walkers were not very sure of the date. Saying the same thing to Peggy, she discovered that her sister was also keen to come down to Plymouth.

On the following Saturday morning Nancy, Pete and Mark met up as usual to do paperwork, allocate the following week's schedules, and plan the week so far as they could. When they stopped for coffee, tea and buns,. Pete said, "Mark and I would very much like to see your friend John sail into Plymouth, we're both really keen., I think it's a fantastically brave thing to do. There is an ulterior motive, though - I'd like to meet the Walkers. They seem to me quite remarkable in a very understated way. But I don't want to parachute into something that is very personal, and perhaps we won't really be wanted."

Mark backed Pete up. "Nancy says the Walkers don't want a fuss to be made, and I would hate to feel we spoilt things."

Nancy said, "Look, Titty won't be returning from North Wales until Monday or Wednesday afternoon. I'll ring her when she gets back, and I'll ask her bluntly what her mother thinks of the idea. I'm sure I can have an answer by Wednesday night, and I'll let you know what she says as soon as I can. There is one thing you can be sure about, you'll get a straight answer."

Pete was quiet for a minute and then said, "What we'll do is make our plans to be there. Nancy, you could take Peggy, and Mark and I'll get there best we can. But I do want you to stress that we don't want to gatecrash this family affair. You will stress the point when you ring Titty, won't you?" 

Nancy said, "I will."

When Nancy spoke to Titty on Thursday morning when Titty had just got back from North Wales, she was told that the latest information was John was still expected to arrive a little later in September. Nancy told her that she, and Peggy would like to come down for John's arrival, and Mark and Pete too, but she emphasised they did not to come if the Walkers did not want them there. 

Titty told Nancy she would ring back after she had talked to her mother. Within the hour she had rung back to say that the Walkers would love Pete and Mark to come as well as Nancy and Peggy. But Titty warned that they should remember John was likely to be very tired, and could not be expected to be the highlight of the party. She said, "Nancy, something went wrong when they were in Rio, and John had to sort it out. I don't think it was very easy and it is not to be mentioned." 

Nancy told Pete and Mark what Titty had told her when they met up as usual on Saturday. There was still plenty of time to organise themselves. 

Titty meanwhile was worrying herself over John. 

As for Nancy, she was sure that John would soon get into the swing of things, and they were sure to have a great welcome home party. When she, Mark and Pete met up the following Saturday, the trip to Plymouth was the main topic of conversation. Nancy was surprised just how keen the company partners were to be there. 

Later news from Titty was that John would arrive during the second weekend in September. During August, there was no change to the scheduled arrival date, and Nancy and Peggy, together with Pete and Mark, were all beginning to look forward to the weekend in Plymouth.

On the first Saturday of September, Mark said, "Come on Nancy. Tell us the drill, Peggy we've met, what about the others? And what will happen?" 

Nancy told them, "According to Titty, we're all going to watch the Sinbad arrive from a place called Staddon Point, a spur of land where you can look out to sea. Sinbad's heading for the Naval base, so once they've passed, the navy will collect us from there and take us into the dockyard. Then after they've got in, there will be a naval reception, attended by the families and friends of the sailors, and naval top brass will be there. We're all invited to the reception, and afterwards to a meal with the Walkers on Saturday evening. Then, there are the Walkers, you'll know Mrs Walker, she's tall and looks distinguished and is older of course. Bridget is the youngest, and Roger is now tall, nearly 6', tousled and untidy. Titty is small, as you know; she has wonderful hair that curls over her shoulder. Susan is older and now married to Neville. The other families are the Arbuthnots and the Blacks, they should be there for the reception."

Pete said, "I've booked the four of us into the guest house where I stay when I fly to Plymouth. They seemed to know already that the little ship would be arriving; they even knew its name, Sinbad. So John's hope of slipping into Plymouth without fuss I'm afraid have been already blown apart. I have to say I already feel sorry for him. I should think the last thing you want to do after a long voyage is to party." 

Nancy thought otherwise, but decided it wasn't the moment to say so.

She went out that Saturday to buy new clothes for the reception, but had to race back as jobs piled in. Pete had a passenger who wanted to be taken to Plymouth after his normal day's work, and brought back on Sunday. Mark picked up a job of taking a parcel to Exeter, and Nancy herself took a small parcel to Bristol and then an urgent package of graphite for the pencil works at Keswick.

Meanwhile things were not going well for the Walkers. Neville was ill, and Susan could not come to the reception. It was now certain that John would not arrive until Saturday afternoon, so the Walkers would travel down to Plymouth on Thursday. Mrs Walker had hoped to book a private room for a meal, but the hotel's private dining room had been booked, so they would have to have a corner of the public dining room. 

Mrs Walker was familiar with the hotel as she and Commander Walker had stayed there before when visiting Plymouth. They had been kind enough to arrange transport, so when theyreached Plymouth station, at the barrier there was a taxi driver with a piece of card saying 'Walkers' on it. He must have been well briefed, because seeing them disembark he moved forward and with a porter collected their luggage. "The Grange," he said, brushing off a brass button, "Have no intention of half doing the job."

On the journey to the hotel the taxi driver warned Mrs Walker that he thought half the town would be out to see the arrival of the little ship, especially as the weather was likely to be good. 

Mrs Walker said, "My son was hoping for a very low key arrangement."

"I don't blame him," he said, "But I'm afraid it is not going to be like that. Especially as he's arriving Saturday afernoon. The whole town will be watching, you can't blame them, it's not everyday that youn chaps make a voyage like that."

The hotel manager was on hand when they arrived to ensure they were comfortable, and then left them to it. On Friday morning they went for a walk, out to Staddon Point, and beyond. There was nothing much to see, but they staked out a spot where they thought they would get a good view. From there, they all looked out to sea again and again in the vain hope that John had made better time than he expected. Titty was unhappy now the voyage was nearly over. She was worried because of John's last letter, and what the taxi driver had said about the sense of anticipation in the town. John was going to hate all the publicity, but thankfully they would be going home to Shotley on Sunday. There his privacy would be respected. But if only John could arrive this afternoon then he might arrive without fanfare. His letter, written in the Azores, had hinted that things had not gone according to plan . 

Mrs Walker had a conversation with someone from the navy and ensured that it was all fixed up for Nancy and Peggy and Nancy's employers to attend the reception. 

Nancy and Peggy flew in in the afternoon, Peggy with a roll of drawings from Barrow beside her in the passenger seat, a delivery which had arrived for them at the last minute. Mark arrived next having flown in from Exeter, and they all ate together at the guest house. It was dusk when Pete arrived, having flown with his passenger direct from Newcastle. The guest house, accustomed to late arrivals, provided him with a cold meal. 

Peggy had contacted Titty and agreed they would rendezvous at Staddon Point, so in the morning they walked from the guest house, Nancy and Peggy leading the way, the partners hanging back. Pete said, "You know, Mark, I'm beginning to regret this. I feel so much a gatecrasher."

Mark said, "Well, in truth, so am I, but it's too late now."

Pete told him, "That must be them. The tall lad must be Roger, and the woman beside him Mrs Walker, and the two smaller girls Bridget and Titty." 

Mark said, "Who's the smaller, Titty or Bridget?"

Pete said, "I forget." 

Mark in his turn said, "We'd better wait to be introduced." They hung back.

When they caught sight of the Walkers, Peggy and Nancy broke into a run. Roger turned and waved, and said something to the others who turned and waved too. Mrs Walker welcomed Nancy and Peggy and then Titty, Bridget and Roger did too, and to her chagrin Nancy found herself looking up at Roger, who no longer looked a ship's boy at all. He was broad, thick set, and taller than his mother. Peggy was already chattering away to Titty. 

Nancy saw Pete and Mark were hanging back, and waved them forward. She introduced first Mark and then Pete to Mrs Walker, then both of them to Roger and Bridget, and finally Titty. 

They were, Pete thought, a formidable bunch. Mrs Walker had the chiselled face of a someone who was confident and attractive, and she looked far younger than he imagined. Then there was her tall son who looked well built and strong, and as Nancy had said, possessed a tousled head of hair and looked scruffy. Bridget was delicate looking, already taller than her older sister and more smartly dressed. Then there was Titty. Pete thought the description elfin only half said it, and as he looked down at this attractive young woman with startlingly big brown eyes, he thought her face seemed all at odds with itself. She looked vaguely like her mother and had her mother's clear clean skin, and she did have a great mass of curly brown hair that cascaded over her shoulder, just as Nancy had told them. She was brown as a berry and looked exceedingly fit, and her small hand gripped Pete's like a vise. Small she may be, he thought, but this lass was strong. 

Nancy was talking, "Where will we first see the Sinbad?"

Mrs Walker pointed. Handing Nancy a big pair of binoculars, she said, "Just to the left of the frigate you can see a small boat with red sails. The frigate is shadowing them." 

Roger passed a second pair of binoculars to Mark, who had a look. He passed them on to Pete. It was blustery on the headland, and the white horses were quite clear, it'd be windier on the water. The big frigate dwarfed the little ship, but as more and more people arrived it was at that, people were looking. From the headland, they could now see it was heeling to wind. Nancy passed the binoculars to Peggy, who after having a good look passed them on to Titty. Pete had passed the ones he had to Mrs Walker. On the Sinbad came, cutting through the water with a bone in her teeth. 

Mrs Walker said, "I think John's alone at the helm, and he's certainly determined to arrive in style." 

Titty was crying and Peggy was standing by her. Deftly she exchanged her dry hanky for Titty's sodden one. Bridget was looking bright eyed, and Roger rather sober. Even Mrs Walker had a tear in her eye. 

Whatever happened now John would arrive home alive. But it was a sadness, Mrs Walker thought, that Ted was not here to share in their son's homecoming. 

As they watched the little ship went about., Roger said "Lining her up for the run into the Sound." 

Mark looked at Pete and knew he was thinking what he was; young as they were these Walkers knew what they were on about. 

Suddenly, two men in naval uniform were pushing their way through the crowd. They came up to Mrs Walker, who had passed the binoculars to Pete. Mark and Pete heard the leading man say to Mrs Walker, "We're here to take you all to the base; we'll wait until John goes about again and then we must go back."

Mrs Walker said, "Thank you, but you are sure we can wait that long?."

He replied, "Yes, I'm quite sure." The lieutenant trained his binoculars on the little ship. The frigate too had changed course, and now both ships were nearer it was obvious she was shadowing the little ketch. The sound was already crowded with small ships, and two motor launches filled with people, shot out of the sound heading directly for the Sinbad. A load hailer on the frigate could be heard quite clearly, instructing them to stay clear. They slowed, but still made for the Sinbad. There was a second instruction, this time, "Keep clear of the Sinbad!" 

The second man muttered, "If they get any nearer Captain Jones'll put a shot over their heads."

It was clear to all now there was only one man in the cockpit of the ketch, and that she was making the most of the wind and cleaving through the water. The lieutenant muttered, "Bloody typical, leaving John to all the work. He always knew how to get the best out of anything. Look at her, she must be doing 11 knots."

Once she was well abreast of the sound the little ketch went about again, the mainsail flapped once and she gathered speed. "Come on, time to go," said the leading man. 

Nancy, Peggy and their small party hesitated, "Come on," said Titty.

There were two cars. Everyone trailed after Mrs Walker, escorted by the two sailors who pushed their way through the gathering crowds. Once at the Admiralty cars, They all piled in, and the police were on hand to ensure they got away quickly. 

Nancy told Mark and Pete how John had always been able to sail the tubby little Swallow faster than could be expected, but she gave Peggy a wrathful glance when her sister told them that John usually beat them in the races they had. 

The two cars sped quickly through the town and into the dockyard, through the lifted barrier, past the armed guards and into the dockyard. Mark said, "Crumbs, I feel like royalty, I'd no idea it would be like this." 

The driver said, "Mrs Walker and her family will always be well treated, it's a privilege." 

There was a small crowd gathered on the dockside, and the cars stopped to let Mrs Walker and her party out. They joined the crowd. It seemed a long time before the superstructure of the frigate could be seen. Then the Sinbad glided into view, and there were now three men on deck, but it was clear John was still at the tiller. 

People made way for a small powerful looking man, resplendent in gold braid and dress sword, who walked authoritatively through the crowd. He nodded to people on one side and the other, but it was evident his quarry was Mrs Walker. Holding his hand out, he said in a quiet voice, 

"Hallo, Molly, he's here at last. I knew he'd be on time, that's John for you. I'm sorry, I know John wanted no fuss, but others did and I lost that argument."

Mrs Walker said, "That's all right Bob. I guessed some time ago no fuss was a vain hope."

"Now this is the family, this will be Bridget, how is music school?" As he turned to face the youngest Walker, the Admiral's medals glinted in the sunlight.

Awed, Bridget said, "It's lovely, I enjoy it so much."

"This will be Roger. How's the car? And did the exams go to plan?"

Roger said, "I did better than I expected, thank you, Sir. And the car doesn't go as well as I hoped, but things are improving slowly."

The Admiral turned his fierce eyes on Titty. "And Titty, how are you, dear? I know from your mother the exams went well, are you going to Lucerne?"

"Yes, Sir," said Titty.

He went on, "And next week are there will be more Frenchmen for you to dazzle at Shotley?" 

Titty blushed and then the Admiral said immediately, "Sorry, I should not have said that, even if it's true."

"Yes, Sir," she said. 

He asked, "And did you have good weather in Wales?"

"Yes, I did," said Titty, smiling. 

"And who are these?" he asked. 

Mark and Pete and the Blacketts were introduced, and each got a fierce look. But there was little time for introductions, "Here he is." The cry went up.

Closer now, it was evident that little ship had been at sea too long. The paint was flaking, there were rust stains dribbling down the hull, and a big rip in the discoloured mainsail had been roughly stitched. Part of the combing had been ripped away. 

While the Walkers and Blacketts were looking at the damage, the dock gates swung open. Sinbad went about and slipped through the opening. The mainsail rattled down and was gathered up. As she slid closer to the pontoon, Titty gasped, for John's left arm was heavily bandaged and he looked terribly tired. 

The jib gave the little ship just enough steerage way to slide in beside the pontoon, where willing hands grabbed the mooring ropes. Three or four cadets swarmed aboard, helping John and the others to furl the mainsail, mizzen and jib and tidy up. The two men who had collected the Walkers were suddenly by the pontoon gate. "Family parties only on the pontoon," they said authoritatively. 

The other families went down the gangway on to the pontoon, leaving the Walkers to follow. One mother on the pontoon stepped aboard only to be almost catapulted off by a rope as the final act of mooring was completed. 

She yelled angrily, "Keep that off me." 

Ignoring what had just happened, the Admiral turned to Mrs Walker and said, "He sailed well to the end. A son to be proud of, Molly." He moved away up the gangway and through the crowd. They parted, reacting to his gold braid and air of authority. 

On the Sinbad, John dived into the cabin. Two or three minutes later he emerged in a cleaner shirt, trousers and sweater, the grubby bandage still wrapped bulkily around his left arm. He climbed on to the pontoon and into the arms of his mother, who hugged him, pushed him away, and looked in her son's eyes. They told her all she needed to know. He was tired, in pain and relieved it was all over. 

The photographer arrived and took photographs of the three men together, and then with their families. One mother got her family together, and then pushed her son to be photographed separately. The photographs would appear in the national and local press, not something that John nor the Walkers wanted.

Then John returned to the pontoon and said, "The Arbuthnots and Alex are there, the Blacks will want their photographs next with William, and then it will be our turn." He and Roger shook hands, he kissed Bridget and hugged Titty, pulled a grubby handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away her tears. Then John turned to Nancy and Peggy and was introduced to Mark and Pete. John smiled at them, saying a little uncertainly, "I often wondered what kind of people took on the terror of the seas." There was a roar of laughter and Nancy almost coloured. 

Pete found himself looking into a pair of hard brown eyes and into a face that had seen too much. A couple of inches shorter than his tall brother, John too was thick set, and in spite of looking terribly tired he looked plain tough. 

Mrs Walker asked, "Your arm?"

"It got a cut a week ago," John said, grimacing.

The young men who had collected the Walkers from the headland had reappeared and were standing by. One turned to the other, and the taller of the pair promptly disappeared up the pontoon gangplank. Peggy moved to Titty's side and deftly replaced John's hanky with yet another dry one. John was not steady on his feet, and Roger was hovering at his side. 

Suddenly John gathered himself. The other families were leaving and the photographer had come to the Walkers. John was insistent they should all gather by the mainmast for a private group photograph. Afterwards, there were more photographs of John alone, John with his mother, and John with his brother and sister. The last were taken with them in the cockpit with John sitting down by the tiller. Meanwhile, Roger took the rest of the party on a tour of the ketch. The cabin was untidy, damp, and smelt. 

Pete and Mark looked at each other and again each knew what the other was thinking, Had three men really ate, slept, smoked and lived in this tiny space for ten months on a tossing sea?

Everyone went slowly up the pontoon on to the dockside and moved towards the building where the reception was to be held. John was walking with Roger on one side and Titty on the other, his right arm linked into hers.

A man in naval uniform, with a woman nurse beside him, arrived by their side. He spoke to Mrs Walker, and then John disappeared with them through a small door. The rest of the Walkers and their party joined the throng in the hall, where drinks were being served and waiters were beginning to circulate with food on silver trays. Mrs Walker came to Mark and Pete and told them she would like them to join the family for dinner. 

As they were being ushered to their seats, a man came up to Mrs Walker and held out his hand, "Mrs Walker, I think."

"Yes, that's right," said Mrs Walker.

"May I just say a big thank you for your son and what he's done? I gather from what William has said, and it isn't much, he would not be here today were it not for John. I'm his father, Mr Black." After a thankful handshake, he moved away. 

A tall man with a craggy face and even more gold braid than the Admiral entered the room. He spoke briefly to the Arbuthnots, and then longer to the Blacks. Then he made his way purposefully towards Mrs Walker. 

"Well Molly, I did my best, I've even managed to hide the man of the moment."

"Thank you, Peter," Mrs Walker said quietly.

"Now, introduce me. This will be Bridget, how did the last concert go, dear?"

"Very well, thank you," Bridget said.

"The Wigmore Hall is a marvellous place to play. This must be Roger, how's that car? The engineers at Shotley, are giving you some help. I hope?" he said.

"Yes, thank you, Sir," Roger said.

"That's good. I'm glad they are doing their bit." 

He turned, and his gaze fell on Titty. A smile lit up the dark face., "Well, my dear, are you glad to have your brother back? What a silly question. Now you'll have to pay our dues by doing more translation for us, and continue to charm our visitors." He turned back to Mrs Walker and said, "You have no idea how your daughter has lit up visits to Shotley. Her reputation is spreading across Europe. Parties due to go Shotley ask about the pretty lass who does the translations. We're so pleased she's doing so well and has won the scholarship to go to Lucerne."

"I am glad she is useful," said Mrs Walker.

"Molly, you've just no idea," he said, "And here is the man of the moment. Without him there would have been no event like this. "

John appeared through a door at the end of the room, looking distinctly white., He was with the tall man, and a nurse stood by his side. The tall officer turned to him, "Now you're under your mother's command, thank goodness. She'll look after you better than you've managed to look after yourself."

John snapped to attention. "Sir!" he said sharply. "Yes, sir!" 

"I should think so too. You are to ignore all previous instructions. Our orders for you have changed, Lieutenant, you are to report to me on the October the 1st at 10, do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," said John.

The tall man went on, "I'll see you before then. I'm due in Shotley at the end of next week, when we use your sister's skills again." He turned to Mrs Walker and said, "Molly, look after him for us, we're going to need him and he's had a rough time, not that he'll tell you half of it of course, but you know that anyway. Your children are a great credit to Ted and yourself. Do as your mother tells you, John. No gallivanting or late night boozing and I'll see you next week." An officer appeared at his side and muttered urgently, he shook hands with Mrs Walker, nodded to John and smiled at Titty, and he moved away very smartly, trailing staff officers. 

As he passed the partners they heard him say to the officer, "What a credit that family is to themselves...."

Pete said, very quietly, "Mark, I think that's the First Sea Lord."

"Cor," whispered Mark.

They had just taken their seats when A tall man stood up on the platform and hammered on a table for silence. He said in a clear voice, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to welcome the Sinbad home from her voyage. We thank God for the safe return of Alex, William and John. Now, John wishes to sell his third share in Sinbad and I have Mr Arbuthnot's and John's permission that it should be auctioned here and now. We thought it most appropriate if the sale was done here and now. I am therefore asking Mr Frome to act as auctioneer. Mr Frome for you."

Nancy looked surprised, but Mrs Walker and the Swallows did not.

A second man went to the platform and stood behind the table, with a hammer in his hand. "Let's not stand on ceremony," he said. "So. For a third share of the good ship Sinbad, I shall start the bidding at £350." The bidding went straight to £1000, and there was a slight gasp from the audience. At that point there were 3 bidders left. It went to £1200, and Mr Black dropped out, but the next bid was for £1350. Titty noticed John looked relieved. Bidding slowed and finished at £1560. The man who had made the final bid went straight to the table and flourished his chequebook. With a degree of showmanship he made out the cheque and passed it to Mr Frome, murmuring something inaudible to him. Mr Frome made his way through the crowd to the Walkers and handed the cheque to John. He said quietly, "I'm sorry, but I have been asked to ask you to remove your goods this afternoon. Our buyer is in a hurry. Is that all right?"

"Yes, of course," said John, "I'll do that, I'm packed and ready anyway."

Mr Frome said, "If I were you I should bank that cheque as soon as possible, I am certain there will be no problem, but here is my card in case there is." he moved away. 

The lieutenant appeared at Mrs Walker's elbow and said something to her. Mrs Walker reached for her evening bag, gestured to her family,and there were their escorts. The leader said, "Would you like to return to the hotel now?"

"Yes, please," said Mrs Walker, "That would be most kind." It was very clear that she was ushering her small party away from the reception. Just as they were about to leave the officer who had met them on the quay appeared, and turning to John he said, "Relieved, John?"

He said, "Yes, Sir, I loved sailing Sinbad, but she was not a happy ship, nor does she have happy memories for me."

"No, I can well understand that." The officer turned to Mrs Walker and continued, "Look after him, Molly, I get the impression he's had a rotten time and we need him. In fact, what with Ted and Titty as well, I'm beginning to think the navy cannot do with the Walkers."

Mrs Walker turned a little pink.

"Good night, Molly and you too, John, and family." He turned on his heel and walked away.

The Walker party left. Once outside, the taller naval lieutenant took command. He turned to Roger and said, "Son, down to the quay, if you would, and collect Lieutenant Walker's sea bag." 

Roger nodded, and hustled away, followed by a couple of cadets. Meanwhile, the other lieutenant was handing Mrs Walker into the first car. Pete leaned over the sill and said, "Mrs Walker, we would love to come to dinner this evening, but are you sure you want us?" 

"Yes, you are more than welcome," said Mrs Walker.

Pete said, "Well, Mark and I thought we would return to our lodgings and be at the hotel about 6.30, if that suits. We thought that would give you some time on your own."

"That would be most kind," said Mrs Walker gratefully. 

The tall lieutenant heard what was said and went on, "Take one f the cars. My colleague will escort you through the gates and to your hotel. He'll collect you about 10 past 6. A large crowd has gathered round the entrance of the Grange, and it would be safer for us to use the trade entrance. I think you should do the same," He added apologetically, It's my job to ensure nothing goes wrong." 

Roger had already returned from the Sinbad with his cadets and John's bags. They went straight to the cars and loaded up as the rest of the Walkers and Nancy and Peggy clambered inside. The Walkers were away first. Once in their car, John sagged tiredly against the seat back, and suddenly looked very much older. 

In the other car there was silence, each of them with their own thoughts. When they reached the guest house the driver hopped out, opened the door, and said, "I'll pick you up at 10 past 6." 

As they walked in Pete said "I wonder if they would serve us coffee? I could do with some." 

Nancy went off and was back almost immediately. "The landlord will bring us coffee in the lounge," she said.

Once there, Pete sat down and said, "Phew, that was an eye opener. I had no idea what to expect, but whatever it was, it was nothing like that. What a do."

Mark said, "I got the impression the Walkers were rather well thought of by those navy chiefs. Nancy, did you expect that?"

"No," said Nancy, "Honestly, I had no idea. We've never been with them to a navy do."

"What astounds me is how those very senior officers knew them all, and what they were all doing. But, gosh, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so tired. John looked absolutely whacked, ill with tiredness."

The landlord appeared with a tray of coffee cups, a steaming jug, milk, and a plate of rather good looking biscuits. He said, "Is that the Sinbad you're talking about? We went down and saw them come in, that ketch looked as though it had seen some rough weather. Which one of them was your man, the young chap steering?"

"Yes," said Mark, "That's him."

"He looked shattered," the landlord said.

"He is. That's just what we were saying," said Pete.

Nancy said, "I wish the Walkers were not so modest. I'd want to shout about what I'd done to the roof tops and they, they treated it as though it was just another day at the office. I cannot understand why they didn't made more of such an opportunity."

Pete asked, "What does Titty do at Shotley? What was all that stuff about charming Frenchmen and a reputation spreading across Europe?"

Nancy said, "I've no idea, do you know, Pegs?"

Peggy said, "No. I did know she was hoping to go to language school in Lucerne, and that she needed to win a scholarship to pay for it. Those top brass knew about that too." 

Nancy said, "I don't know whether I'd like to be in a position where all those people knew what I had done and was doing. They knew everything about Titty. And fancy just handing out orders to John at a social do like that, when he was just back from the voyage of a lifetime. And then he goes and sells his share of the boat there and then!" 

Pete mused, "I don't think I'd care to be in the shoes of anyone who upset Mrs Walker. She had a glint in her eye. Thinking about it, nor the others either. John looks as though he could issue a bollocking, and even little Titty does not look as though she suffers fools gladly. Gosh, for such a small girl when she shakes your hand you know it. No limp paws there, eh Mark."

"No, by golly I got a squeeze. We better be there at 10 past 6. Ought we to dress up? I didn't even bring a tie."

"No," said Peggy, "Mrs Walker isn't like that."

"That's a relief," said Pete. 

Nancy said, "I wonder what mess John got his crew out of?" 

Nobody had any idea, but Pete said, "If I've got the Walkers right, I don't think you'll ever find out."

Nancy said, "Well, I intend to have a jolly good try."

Pete said shortly, "Well I wouldn't, if I were you." 

When the Pete an Pete and Mark got to their bedroom and had closed the door Mark said, "Well, we've met the redoubtable Titty. Can you imagine her winning senior cross country races, because I can't?"

Pete's rejoinder was instant, "Oh, I can. First, she's tough, all muscle, and secondly by that face she's formidably determined. But still I'd like to know what that stuff about Frenchman was about."

Mark said, "Well, Nancy didn't know, so how are we to guess?" 

The Walkers' chauffeured car did not pass the front of the hotel, but went through a couple of narrow back streets and turned into a yard. Their driver hurried them into a shabby lobby and then through the kitchens, just as the manager was coming down some back stairs. Seeing them he nodded to the driver, who said briefly, "I'll collect you in the morning," and promptly disappeared. 

The manager took John's bags from Roger and showed them all up the back up stairs. The previous night Roger had had a very small room, but his belongings had been moved to a bigger room with twin beds, shared with John. Once inside, the manager put down John's bag and said, "Now, young sirs. What can I do for you?"

John said, "Is there any chance of a hot bath?"

The manager said, "I thought you might say that. The bathroom is opposite this room, and there are towels and soap ready in the bathroom and a razor. We have plenty of hot water. A porter will be in the corridor, so don't lock the door." 

John said, "I've got three hours before I need to reappear, so I think I'd better have a kip as well. And a shave," he added, rubbing his chin ruefully. It was clear that shaving on a small boat was not the easiest of tasks.

"Good," said the manager, "I'll just have a word with your mother." 

Mrs Walker's first question was, "There's a crowd round the front door, and I'm sure I saw a couple photographers. What can we do about itt?"

The manager grinned and said, "Nothing, nothing whatsoever, just don't appear downstairs. I shall make it my business that they get a message that you've gone elsewhere."

"Oh, thank you," Mrs Walker said.

"Mrs Walker, our parlour dinner booking has been cancelled at the last minute, so my girls are this minute rearranging the room for your. If you don't mind being a little flexible - not much, I assure you - about when the meal is served, we can accomodate you privately?"

"Of course, that's fine, most kind of you. John's terribly tired, so I am not sure what will happen. A nurse is coming to dress his arm," Mrs Walker said, a little distracted.

The manager said, "That's all arranged, she's coming in through the kitchens. She'll be here about 6. If you would like to sit in the parlour, there are some easy chairs there. You won't mind if they lay the table at the other end?"

Meanwhile John had had his bath. He promised himself a longer one when he got home, but washed the worst of the dirt and grime off and had a decent shave. He crossed the corridor to his room and found Roger reading. "Hallo, old chap. Crumbs, it's good to see you."

Roger said, "Mummy says, the nurse is coming at 6 to dress your arm, so I'll wake you at about 20 to." 

John grimaced. 

There was no need to say more but Roger asked, "How bad is it?"  
John said grimly, "It hurts like hell." He sat on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment or two, then looked up and said, "This is great, a proper bed. Rogie, before I crash out, let me tell you to never, never, get involved with a foreign brothel and never ever start a fight in one. How I got those two bloody stupid buggers out of Rio I'll never know." 

They grinned at each other. John rolled over, and was asleep within minutes despite the pain of his arm.

Roger went along the corridor and found his mother in the parlour with his two sisters. He told her, "John's fast asleep. He doesn't fancy having his arm seen to, but I gave him no choice. He says it hurts badly."

"Good he's asleep," said Mrs Walker. "I was afraid he wouldn't go off. Looking at him at that do, I wasn't sure if I'll ever let him out of my sight again."

Roger said "Mummy," and told her exactly what John had said, knowing his mother would not be shocked and that it would be better if his parents knew the truth. Besides, Titty had heard far worse language than that and he knew it. 

Mrs Walker said tautly, "He wrote the same to me. The less said the better, and we won't talk about it unless he wants to, is that clear? It's off limits. So that you know what the go on was, John had to pay a substantial bribe from his own money to get those two out of jail. He'd had to provision the Sinbad by himself and sail as soon as he got them on board, and had already been doing most of the sailing. Neither of them seemed to know a chart from a binnacle, either," she went on,."Well, we know now what to do, feed him and ensure he gets plenty of sleep."

Bridget asked, "Mummy, what did the man mean when he said that all John's plans are changed?"

Her mother said, "I've no idea, and I'm willing to bet John doesn't either. Titty, did you know? You were doing translation for them last week?"

"No, Mummy. They always tell you first," said Titty.

"I do wish they'd station him at home for a while," said Mrs Walker. "But Ted wouldn't have it any other way, so...." She looked up. "Those two chaps who employ Nancy seem decent enough. I thought Pete was very nice, I took to him." 

The Walkers talked about Nancy's friends,the Sinbad, the auction, and one or two other bits and pieces.

Roger woke John after a quarter to 6, and the nurse arrived very shortly afterwards. Brisk and efficient, she introduced herself firstto Mrs Walker. When they were finished, she turned to Titty and said, "You climb don't you? Seen any blood and gore?" 

"Yes," said Titty grimly.

"Right then, come with me and I'll show you how to dress your brother's arm. It's not pleasant, but once you've done it once you'll be fine." And away she went with Titty in tow. When they saw John he refused to tell the nurse what had happened. Just as the nurse had told Titty, his arm was a nasty wound. 

Roger reappeared in the dining room and they talked together. Then the Blacketts, Mark and Pete arrived and were shown upstairs.They reported that hardly anyone was hanging round the entrance. Nevertheless, they had still been brought through the kitchens, and had seen the manager who told them he'd get a taxi to take them back to the guest house if they needed one.   
John and Titty had still not come downstair, and Mrs Walker cornered Roger to ask, "Did you see his arm?"

Roger said, "Yes, I did. It's a very nasty cut, a gouge really, and and the skin around is inflamed. I don't think he had time to clean it properly, either." 

Peggy cringed, and even Nancy looked shocked. If Roger said it was nasty then it must be. 

The nurse, Titty and John appeared. The nurse was stay for the meal, after which she would check John's wound again before she left. Mrs Walker asked Titty, "Is it very nasty?"

Titty said, "Yes, Mummy it's really bad and painful. But Mrs Vetch did her best, and she has shown me what to do.."

John looked better, having washed and had a sleep, but there was a grey tinge under his tan and it was starkly evident to all that he had been under tremendous strain. 

The soup was served with a crusty roll and it was wonderfully tasty. John manfully told them something of the highlights of his voyage. How they had made landfalls in India and Africa and South America, of golden sandy beaches, glorious dawns and sunsets. Suddenly, at home and safe, some of the bad memories beginning to recede. He became quite animated, and the nurse looked happier. But as the meal ended, tiredness swept over him, and although John sought to rise above it he did not. Mrs Walker said briskly, "Time for you to go to bed. I'm having a look at that arm of yours." 

Mrs Vetch and Mrs Walker disappeared with John in tow. 

Mark asked Roger, "Your father is in the Navy too, isn't he? Where is he now?"

"He's in the China Seas. He's constantly at sea when he's there. They get asked to do kinds of things in the navy, from chasing pirates to helping villagers clean up damage after the storms." Roger told him.

"What's it like having a Dad a few thousand miles away?" asked Pete.

It was Titty who answered, "It's horrible, I hate it." 

Pete looked at her in slight surprise; it was the angry vehemence she had used that took him by surprise. He looked at her and she went on, "I hate it when he's away, life isn't the same at all. I hate the navy for taking him away from us."

In the chorus of "So do I" from Roger and Bridget Titty had suddenly looked a school girl again, small and vulnerable and uncertain of herself. Pete was sorry he had asked, but Roger got the conversation going again with a hilarious description of his last outing with the car and some of the alterations the naval engineers had suggested. Pete thought, 'Titty must be younger than my sisterm and yet she's already done a full year at university and will be travelling alone to Lucerne. Tougher than she looks.' 

When Mrs Walker returned, she was alone. Mrs Vetch had already left. Pete, Mark and the Blacketts soon followed, after the Nancy and Peggy had got a promise from Titty to keep them up to date about John, and to send a postcard from Lucerne. They left the hotel by the front entrance where there was no sign of anyone hanging around, and walked back to their guest house through Plymouth's crowded streets. It was only just after 7. Nancy was complaining to Peggy that she had been unable to prise from Titty how it was the navy top brass knew her, and what the remarks about Frenchmen meant. 

Peggy said bluntly, "You'll get nowhere. Stop pushing her or trying to catch her out."

"But she's younger than us, and so small and fragile," said Nancy.

Peggy said with some scorn, "Small, yes; fragile never, and you'll never catch her out. Besides, don't forget how she pinched Amazon from under our noses in the war,or how she persisted in looking for Uncle Jim's box when we all thought it was a load of rubbish."

Nancy said, "I suppose so, but an Amazon pirate ought to be more than a match for a Swallow."

Peggy said, "Well, John's's still daring and Titty is not just clever, but stubborn, you'd never get her to do anything she did not want to do."

"I suppose not," said Nancy grumpily.

Peggy said, "She does love her Mummy and Daddy, and all the Walkers do what their mother says. Look at John, when he was told to go to bed he did, just like that."

Nancy said, "I thought he'd let his hair down a bit after all he's been through, and after such a success."

"I suppose he might when he gets home, but I doubt it. It's just not the way the Walkers behave; it would be letting the side down. Besides, from what I made out, if John wasn't like he is that crew would still be in Rio." said Peggy.

"I wonder what they did?" said Nancy.

Peggy said, "I think those other two got into trouble with the police and John had to pay a bribe to get them out of trouble, a big one. Else why sell his share of the boat so quickly? But they did not seem to care much about what he'd done for them. What do you think?" Peggy asked, turning to Pete and Mark.

The pair had been listening with some amusement. Mark said, "I think Peggy's got it right, but I'm willing to bet the situation was more complicated than that. I also got the impression, though I might be wrong, that the navy top brass knew exactly what had happened and all the Walkers knew too, including Bridget."

Pete said, "I agree with Mark, I have to say that what I cannot get over was how tired John was. Nor can I get over how obvious it was that those top brass thought so highly of the Walkers. As for your little friend Titty, I thought she was the pettiest girl in the room."

"But," said Nancy "The girlfriends of those other two blokes were far better dressed, better made up, and looked the part, while the Walkers looked dowdy. And the other two blokes at least made some attempt to look smart at the reception. John looked as though he he'd pulled his clothes from the bottom of his kit bag."

"I gather it was John who actually sailed the boat," said Mark tartly, "I'd look worn out too." He went on "And as for Titty, none of those other girls could match her. Not with that mass of curly hair and her face and those eyes."

"Well, I still think she could have made herself up a bit." said Nancy, "Her brother was just home from the sea, for goodness sake."

"And did the First Sea Lord say hello to those dolly birds?" said Pete, "No, he did not. It was all very interesting, but I don't think we'll agree."

In the morning they were away early, Mark flying back to Newcastle in time for lunch with Mr Hughes, and Pete with his passenger very much later. Nancy flew with Peggy back to a field near Kendal, and then on to Newcastle.

At the Grand Hotel, Roger had a job to wake John in time for a bit of breakfast and be ready for the taxi to take them to the station, where they would catch the train back to London. John was no sooner seated on the train than he was asleep again, head on Titty's shoulder. 

While on the journey home, a tall man passed their compartment and glanced in. He passed by, but returned and looked in for a moment or two, and then went away again. John did not stir, but the rest of the Walkers looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Shortly afterwards, he returned and knocked lightly on the door. Mrs Walker beckoned him in, he opened the door and asked softly, "Excuse me, may I interrupt?"

"Yes?" said Mrs Walker. 

"You are the Walker family, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, we are," said Mrs Walker dreading that the man was a journalist, no matter how distinguished he looked. 

"My name is James Rolls," said the tall man. "I am William Black's father's solicitor, and he has instructed me to track you down. I did not think you'd be travelling back this morning, but am very glad to meet you. Would you mind if I retrieved my briefcase? I have a matter of business to explain." 

"Of course," said Mrs Walker. He left.

Roger asked softly, "William Black's soliciter? Shall I hit him when he comes back?"

"No, you will not, you bad lad," said Mrs Walker and wagged her finger at him.

Mr Rolls returned quite quickly, and sat down handing Mrs Walker his card. "I think William and his family and friends have a great deal to thank John for?"

"We know the barest details, and John is refusing to tell me any more," said Mrs Walker.

"I am not surprised, I and Mr Black found a private room and got most of the story from William before the reception. I won't break John's confidence, but suffice it to say it is an ugly tale. If it hadn't been for the good sense of your son that ship would not have arrived yesterday. William and Alex were more than improvident." Mr Rolls shook his head. "In short," he said, "Your son had to pay a bribe to get both William and Alex released from prison in Rio de Janiero. According to William, John paid over £1000, more than £500 for each of them. Mr Black has therefore instructed me to pay John £2000 by way of recompense."

"But that is far more than the bribe," said Mrs Walker.

Mr Rolls said quietly, "Mr Black is a very rich man and is very appreciative of your son's actions. He is a gentleman of honour, and would prefer to settle his son's debts, but of us feel the matter is best tackled informally."

"So do I," said Mrs Walker.

Looking at John, Mr Rolls said, "I gather William is due a severe talking to from his father when he wakes, but Mr Black is very grateful to have him back in England. Thank you, Mrs Walker, for being so understanding," said Mr Rolls, and left.

The cheque fell to the floor. Roger picked it up and said, "Mummy shall I go after him, this is for £2500." 

Mrs Walker hesitated and then said, "No, don't, Roger. I don't think Mr Rolls was the kind of man to make mistakes."

Roger looked at his mother and said, "No, Mummy, I don't think he is, I'm glad I didn't hit him after all." 

A remark which got him a wrathful glance. Mrs Walker put the cheque away in her handbag.

By the time they got him home John was nearly fainting from pain and tiredness. He staggered up the stairs and collapsed on his bed. Mrs Walker and Titty had braced themselves to dress his arm when there was a knock on the door. It was the nurse from the base surgery, who said briskly, "I've come to dress John's arm. I'll be here morning and evening until such time that it's better. I'm not having the boy ill because of some trifling infection."

The nurse dressed John's arm, he managed a piece of toast, rolled over and slept. Roger told the nurse his brother had tossed and turned all night. She did not seem over concerned, and said to Roger, "I think that is to be expected. If he's still this tired at the end of the week, I'd be more worried." 

They had no sooner finished breakfast than the phone rang. It was the Base Commander. He did not mess about, "Molly, how's John?"

"He's sleeping," Mrs Walker said.

"That's good, he'll need his rest. Can we borrow Titty for a couple of days this week? Tuesday and Wednesday?" 

Mrs Walker looked at Titty, who nodded. "Yes, Bob." 

He said, "I'm sorry, Molly, I should have given you more notice but I thought it would be better if you got John back first. Now, is Titty free next week as well? We've Frenchmen coming Wednesday after lunch and they'll be us till after lunch Friday. Make sure she running with her friends, too. They're getting slack, they need a dose of Titty's pace."

Mrs Walker looked at Titty and there was another nod, "Yes, Bob."

"Thank you Molly. Tell Titty tomorrow's guests are Italians," he said.

John slept all day, woke in time to have his arm dressed, and had some toast with scrambled egg and a bath, and promptly fell asleep. Roger spent the day working on his car while Titty trained with the marines, came home, and got on with some research. 

That evening the nurse told Mrs Walker, "I think he'll wake tomorrow more himself, although his arm will take a while to heal. Do you know how he did it?"

"No, I don't," Mrs Walker said, "And I don't think he's likely to tell me."

"No, I can understand that," said the nurse.

By the time John woke up on Wednesday morning Titty was already about to leave for her day's duties, but she was able to report John looked better. It was a long day of translation for her, but these Italians had been before and that made it easier.

She trained with the marines again on Thursday ready for a race at Colchester on Saturday. She also got permission for John to join them if he felt like it the next week, but she got the impression that had already been arranged

A senior officer, Captain Peter Heyward, arrived for the last translation session on Thursday. He asked after John, and when it became obvious he was under orders, Titty rang her mother and arranged a short visit. She took him back with her to the house when the session was over, by which time John was looking a great deal better. They left him to talk to John in the lounge. 

The officer told John he must appear in the Admiral's office at 10 on the 1st of October, where he would be interviewed at length by a navy board of three. "You will need to be frank about your voyage, including what went on including what went on at Rio," he said.

John looked a little down in the mouth. 

"I know, I know, you don't want to split on your colleagues, but it won't do. That voyage was undertaken in navy time with no deduction of pay. The navy is entitled to know."

"Yes, Sir," John said, somewhat dolefully.

The officer went on, "In the meantime, I am instructed to tell you that you are to get plenty of sleep and plenty of exercise, go running with the marines and that little sister of yours. You have no chance of keeping up with her, I gather." The last remark was accompanied with a wry grin.

"I haven't a hope, Sir," said John frankly.

The office told him, "Now, do not be concerned about the enquiry board. The chances are you will be put on a fast track course where you'll find you have to work damned hard, Lieutenant Walker. Most of the attendees will be senior to you. You need to get yourself as fit as you can." 

John grinned gratefully. 

It all went as planned. Titty's next two days of translation went well also, translating this time for Frenchmen. At the end of the last day she had a surprise. The senior French officer presented her with a parcel, which he said came as a token of appreciation for her efforts. She had to open it in from of them. Inside was a pair of crampons and Choinnard ice axe. Titty was dumbfounded. They were beautiful, and exactly what she would have chosen. She looked at the gift with delight, although the three Frenchmen demanded a kiss apiece which was given with shinning eyes. 

When she had gone, the Admiral and the Base Command asked the French officers how they got the idea and were told, "We knew she climbed, and we doubted if she had enough money to buy equipment of that quality. Some women you'd buy perfume or fancy clothes, but not that girl." 

When they had gone the Admiral said, "It's a fine mess when we depend on the French to equip our staff. What are we paying young Titty?"

The Base Commander grunted and said gruffly, "2/- a day, sir."

The Admiral said, "That's not enough. Leave it with me."

"When I complained the board told me it was all they were prepared to pay an undergraduate."

The Admiral said, "Well, I'll change that." 

"I'd be glad if you would, Sir."

"And how is that other young Walker? Did John join in any training?"

"Yes, Sir, and he kept up with the group too, though not with young Titty. She won at Colchester this time, and I gather she really gave everyone a run for the money. One or two of the lads compete in these local events, and I believe there is a crew of supporters who are noisy when the lass runs."

"No harm in that, I think?"

"No, Sir, I think it has the opposite effect. It is extraordinary how well they have taken to her. According to Robert, they are better behaved when she's around."

"Good, those Frenchmen had her summed up when they bought an ice axe and not perfume."

Three weeks later John reported, now his arm was mending nicely and his weariness disappeared, for his advanced training.


	13. Nancy Becomes a Director

Once they were back from Plymouth, for some inexplicable reason Air Services became exceptionally busy. They acquired several new customers, including the local police. It saved officers an enormous amount of time to be flown when they were to give evidence or attend a conference about a big case, and they seemed to think it amusing to be flown by a woman pilot. Air Services gained publicity and interest because Nancy was a pilot and both young and photogenic, and several articles about her appeared in the local papers. She enjoyed the publicity. They each had their specialist areas: Pete went to the continent, and the south west, Mark the Midlands and London, while Nancy did the local work and ferried Mr Hindley from place to place when required. Most weeks, he needed to be flown somewhere.

One day she had just flown in from Glasgow when a call came through to fly a doctor to Cardiff, post-haste. "Yes," said Carl, "We can do that." 

Twenty minutes later a neat, dapper little man drove into the car park. He evidently expected something rather more salubrious than a shabby wooden hut. Nancy had just come out of the office and was still getting into her flying helmet. He said rather stiffly, "I'm Doctor Duggan. I understand your organisation is to fly me to Cardiff?"

'Well,' thought Nancy, 'I am not on organisation, but never mind, I'm the pilot who's going to take this chap.' 

He asked, "Are you to take me?"

Nancy said sharply, "Yes, I'm the pilot. Have you any warm clothes?"

The doctor said, "I have a coat and muffler, should I wear them? You see, I've never flown before."

Nancy said, "I should dress warmly if I were you. It's cold up there." 

The doctor went to his car and took out a very smart trench coat and a silk scarf, putting them on as he followed Nancy out to Tiger Lily. There, he climbed somewhat clumsily into the passenger seat. Nancy called up the control tower, and was cleared for take off. They took off smoothly into an azure blue sky and flew west and then south, the Welsh Marches, with their low hills and small market towns, spread out below them. South of the Black Mountains they turned west, using the heads of the valleys road to guide them. About two hours after leaving Newcastle they landed safely in Cardiff, and with Nancy's help Doctor Duggan made a better job of climbing out than he had of getting in. Before he walked away he thanked Nancy, looking back at least twice at the little plane. She followed him into the terminal, and there the doctor asked, "Could you fly me back to Newcastle the day after tomorrow - around 5?"

Nancy told him, "We can, but I cannot be sure it would be myself flying."

At the airport, she rang their agent, Charley. Jobs in hand, she had to fly into Bristol and on to Exeter before the morning ended. There, she had to wait for a parcel to take to Gloucester, where she had a rather late lunch and then it was back to Cardiff for the stopover. So, it looked as though Nancy would be the pilot to bring Dr Duggan back to Newcastle, for in the morning she had to fly to just outside Chester and collect a set of drawings to be taken back to Cardiff. It was another very late lunchtime when she arrived back in Cardiff, and she had most of the afternoon to kill. She'd read her book, and so to while away the time Nancy bought a newspaper. There, amongst other things, she read an article about Germany, suggesting that Hitler was preparing Germany for war. Nancy had heard Titty talk of war, and now finding the same opinion written by someone else made it seem more likely. When she had heard Titty talk of war before, she had dismissed the idea as worrying. And there was a paragraph in the article critical of Oswald Moseley, giving good reasons, and suddenly Nancy's hero became tarnished. It all came as a bit of a shock Suddenly, she was thinking Titty and the Walkers might not be so stupid after all. 

But Dr Duggan arrived earlier than she expected, and Nancy flew him back to Newcastle in wonderful weather and forgot about the war. When they had landed, the doctor went to his car, waiting until Nancy returned to the office. He had already thanked her, and now he said, "I really enjoyed that flight, we saw so much of England. It is possible I shall be going to Cardiff regularly and I would like to fly with you. My secretary will be in touch."

Nancy said, "Yes, England is wonderful seen from the air, but remember it's not always like that. Sometimes it can be wet, cold and really miserable."

"H'm, yes, I can imagine," he said. 

Nancy wondered if he really could, and decided he probably did know. She said, "It can be absolutely horrible and it can be wonderful. You have to take the rough with the smooth." 

Whatever she thought about the war, the article had reminded her that it might be nice to see Titty again. That evening Nancy rang her and suggested she come up for the weekend, and they walk on the Cheviot. Titty caught her out, saying that she could manage this weekend but after that, she was busy for some time. She was, she told Nancy, quite prepared to sleep on the floor, and that was what they arranged she should do. Nancy refrained from telling Titty her sudden doubts about the war, the real reason for wanting to see her. When she told the Ackroyds Titty was visiting, Mrs Ackroyd was having none of "this sleeping on the floor business," as she called it. She had heard a lot about Titty, and both she and Mr Ackroyd were anxious to meet the Walker children. Not that they told Nancy that, there were some things they had decided it was better not to say. 

So late that Friday afternoon Nancy met Titty off the London train and took her back to the Ackroyd's. She had somehow forgotten to tell them that Titty was small. A climber, yes, an athlete, and they knew she had a brother who had sailed a boat from Singapore to England, but they had envisaged a bold strapping lass akin to Nancy herself. So when Nancy introduced this rather shy, small woman as Titty, Mrs Ackroyd got a bit of a surprise and Mr Ackroyd more so. 

Nancy provided Friday's meal, which was her standard fare of something substantial on toast. The next evening they were invited to dinner with the Ackroyds. Nancy had the Saturday morning off and took Titty up to Wooller by car. As they tramped up off up the Cheviot with the intention of making a long day of it, Nancy spent most of the time questioning Titty. Her enquiries about John met with the fact that John had spent most of his first week home asleep, and the next two readying himself for his next naval post. To Nancy's question about what sort of post it was, Titty said it was, "Some training course or another." 

Titty had no intention of telling Nancy that John was joining a year-long course where every other officer on the course was both older and senior to himself. Already John was finding it jolly hard work, but relishing the challenges. The voyage back from Singapore had gone the rounds and to his embarrassment, that adventure had consolidated his reputation as being able to sail anything anywhere. The controversy surrounding his paper on submarine warfare had also been widely disseminated. That brought kudos and scorn in equal measure.

Nancy also wanted to know about Roger's car. She still could not understand how a young man with a chance to race ignored the excitement of the track and preferred to bury his head in the engine. So she went straight to the hub of what she thought, "Has Roger raced that car of his?"

Titty said, "The school took it to a grass track race, and did better than they expected. In two races it came second and third."

Nancy asked, "Was Roger driving?"

Titty told her, "Oh, no, I've told you before he isn't interested in driving, he's interested in the engineering and keeping the car working. In the third race the driver made a mistake and the car broke down, and now the engine needs to be rebuilt. To be honest Rogie was not a bit sorry, because it gave him the chance to include lots of improvements that otherwise he would not be able to do."

"But doesn't he ever drive it?" Nancy asked.

Titty said, "Not in races, no, never. He watches the car and listens to the engine, and after the race he works on it until the start of the next race."

"So doesn't he chat up all the pretty girls that go to the races?" Nancy asked impatiently.

Titty laughed, "No, he doesn't. Pretty girls who go to the races you see in the newspaper don't go to some farmer's rough field. Where Roger races is far from glamorous. But he often has lots of men and sometimes girls around when he is working on his car, and when he's at home naval engineers pop into the shed. They've always got suggestions, and Roger enjoys all that." 

Nancy pursued her theme, "How boring to get dirty and oily and then not drive the car in a race. I just can't understand him."

Titty told her, "But that is what Roger likes. And he's very good at it. And it's not just the engineering, he does all the office work like the insurance and booking the car in for races. He even got the insurance man from Peggy's firm interested."

Nancy said, "But he can't take the car on the road, so surely he doesn't need insurance? How silly."

Titty said, "The school cannot race without insurance. Whenever they take the car to the track, Roger has to take the insurance certificate too. He got the insurance through Peggy and could find nowhere cheaper."

"What a bother," said Nancy impatiently.

She was anxious to get on to talking about the war, starting rather in the middle of things by asking Titty what her father thought would happen. Titty told her, "Daddy does think there will a war sometime, but not for at least two or three years."

Nancy said, "If that's the case, why are people worrying about it? What does John say about this war idea?"

Titty had looked at her oddly and said, "Because the Germans and the Japanese are preparing themselves for war and we are not, both Daddy and John think that this country just is not ready for a war at all. It's a political question because it costs money, and that of course is not popular with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Nor is it popular with people generally, who don't like to think there might be a war. John believes that the navy's preparation is inadequate especially because of submarines."

Nancy commented with some scorn, "The Japanese, well surely we don't have to worry about them, they're just an island of very backward people."

To which Titty said, "So are we in comparison. They have well trained hardened soldiers and brave pilots, and have had a lot of experience; Daddy thinks it would be all too easy to underestimate them." In fact Titty already knew a good deal more, but she wasn't telling Nancy all she knew. 

Nancy was even more scornful, "I don't believe any English person needs worry about the Japanese. I am sure they are of no consequence whatsoever. So we don't need to worry our heads about them. Anyway they're the other side of the world. What's this stuff about the Germans and this man Hitler? As for the German submarines, I can't believe they're a threat to our navy."

Titty was growing cross that Nancy was so dismissive of her father's and her brothers' concerns. Even Roger thought there would be a war. She told Nancy, "Herr Hitler is a horrible man, but we are going to hear a lot more about him. He has galvanised Germany, and they are building big battleships and equipping their army while we're doing nothing." Nancy's response shocked her. 

Nancy wanted to be sure what Titty really thought about Hitler. She asked sharply, "But surely if Hitler is so effective we should be joining him, not fighting him. Surely he's a strong forceful bloke, like Oswald Moseley, and we need people like them to wake up our soggy politicians Balfour and Chamberlain who just talk money all the time."

She wasn't to know it, but her remarks made Titty decide to be very careful indeed. She said, "But it is well known that the Germans are building passenger aircraft that could be developed into bombers, and their fighter planes are so far more effective than ours."

Nancy was scornful again and really meant it when she said, "I'm sure Englishmen are far superior to the Germans. Our sailors and airmen must be much better than theirs. Nobody's thinking about that, it has all sounded very stupid to me. What's this nonsense that Hitler kills people? They're not going to stop me flying Tiger Lily where I want to, when I want to. If they ever get this far in first place."

Titty said, "Hitler holds big political rallies in sports stadiums and gets people very excited. Anyone who opposes him gets put in prison, and then they often disappear or are murdered by his gangs."

"I don't believe that," said Nancy briskly, "That's just silly talk by a load of softies and people who put out rubbish about him. Why are you so worried?" 

"If there was a war," said Titty shortly, "Then the Navy will fight. And if Daddy or John or even Roger was involved, they might be drowned or injured." 

"Well it won't happen. And our ships are unsinkable, so I shouldn't worry your head about it. These ships the Germans supposed to be building cannot possibly be as good as ours," said Nancy.

Titty was by now thoroughly fed up at Nancy's dismissal of all she had said. She thought of the grave faces round the table at Shotley, and the things that were said by the Frenchmen and particularly the Italians. The Navy officials had never told her to say nothing about what she heard; they did not need to do that anyway. She said instead, "The Germans are building battleships, just as has been said in the newspapers."

Nancy was again dismissive, "That's just newspaper talk." 

Titty knew it wasn't. She needed to finish this conversation, so she asked Nancy where she had flown, and what things she had taken where?

Nancy became expansive, and began to talk at length about her trip with Dr Duggan, and how he had rung Pete up and told him how much he enjoyed himself. And how he would like to fly to Cardiff regularly from the spring through to the early autumn. "So he had been listening to what I said after all." said Nancy. She told Titty about going on from place to place, and waxed lyrical about how lovely it was to fly. 

At least it occupied the time, Titty thought. Besides, on the way down from the Cheviot Nancy was tired and talked less. 

By the time they were having dinner Nancy was very tired indeed, but it was evident that Titty was not. It had been quite a long walk back to Wooller and it had taken sometime. They had almost been late for Mrs Ackroyd's meal 

The Ackroyds were keen to learn from Titty what it was like to be at university. Titty had experienced this before with parents who wanted to do the best for their children, and she gave the Ackroyds a description of life at university. When Mrs Ackroyd asked if she always went to the dining hall for her meals, Titty told her that she did quite often, but sometimes she and the other girls cooked meals on the single gas ring in a cubby hole in the corridor where her room was. The dining hall, she said, wasn't like a school canteen but a big room where many of the meals were formal and the students wore gowns. She told them of making cocoa and talking into the night about everything under the sun. 

But she also emphasised that she found it necessary to work long hours studying and writing essays, sometimes far into the morning. She said she had to work hard, and told them how demanding the lecturers were. Her lecturers, she said, did their best to ensure high standards and were keen for students to work hard and do their best. She told them that it was true that some students wasted time, but she said they seemed not to get good degrees at the end of their course there unless they were exceptionally clever. 

Nancy broke in and said that, since Titty was clever, she ought to make more of the social opportunities attending university gave her. Titty want on to tell them all of the sports clubs and facilities, and how she trained at least twice a week while at college and usually more often. Nancy had told Mrs Ackroyd that Titty had run successfully at school. Titty wished she hadn't, it was not something she liked people to know, but Mr Ackroyd asked about that too. Titty told him about running across country with college friends and races in and around Cambridge. 

Nancy was so tired she missed hearing it.

Mr Ackroyd asked, "When you've finished at university, what will you do?"

Titty thought a second and said, "I expect I will become a translator, either for the government or a company."

Nancy heard that and asked, "What sort of money do they pay you as a translator?"

Titty said, "I've no idea, you would join the Civil Service as a clerk, I suspect. I don't suppose the pay is very good."

Nancy said, "What does a university lecturer get?"

Titty had to admit she had no idea, and she did not sound particularly interested either. Mr Ackroyd pressed her, "What would you like to do?"

Titty said quietly, "I'd like to stay at university and lecture, and do translation as well for any people who wanted it done, and perhaps write as well. That would be my dream." 

"Have you done any writing?" asked Mr Ackroyd.

Titty looked at Mr Ackroyd for a minute and said very quietly, "Yes." She said no more and Mr Ackroyd asked no more questions. 

Nancy had missed that remark too.

Later Mrs Ackroyd said to her husband, "I'd have liked to know what else that lass has really done. I think rather more than she was letting on."

Mr Ackroyd said, "I've no idea, but whatever it was I'm sure she didn't want me to ask, and I have the suspicion she would not have told the truth even then. It wouldn't surprise me, she's already doing translation work for some government department."

"My word," said Mrs Ackroyd, "Do you think she was telling us it was hard work just for show?"

He said, "No, I don't. I think she's probably a bit of a swot for whom only the best will do, so she does work hard. She's a fascinating mix, partly because she is so petite and pretty, too. I reckon she's as tough as whipcord, she'd obviously given Nancy a run for her money today and Nancy's pretty fit. I also suspect she's outstandingly clever, and I guess will do precisely as she intends. She must at least three years younger than Nancy." 

In the morning Nancy and Titty went for a walk round Newcastle, and just before lunch Titty caught the train home. She knew she had annoyed Nancy again, and wondered what would be the outcome. But she enjoyed the train journey south, for it was a welcome chance to read and to think.

Nancy was angry. She had heard none of the things she really wanted to hear or expected to hear. Titty had said there would be a war, but talk of the Japanese she thought ridiculous, for any Englishman would be worth ten Japanese. This business of being scared of Japan made no sense to her. As for Germany, it seemed to Nancy that Hitler was an effective leader who got things done. Far from seeing him a threat, Nancy wished more English politicians were like him. It seemed to Nancy those who derided him were just envious. She still did not believe that Titty had made a case at all for the likelihood of war. 

The thing that annoyed her most was that she still had not uncovered the reason for that naval officer's comments about Frenchmen, nor had she solved why it was that the high ranking officer had been so affectionate to Titty - perhaps she was his mistress. But that, Nancy decided, seemed very unlikely. When on Saturday she had tried and tried to get Titty to talk about that weekend in London, and in the end had asked a direct question, to her fury Titty had just refused to tell her. 

But then, what Titty had said about the war corresponded with the information in the newspaper article Nancy had read. And if Commander Walker thought like Titty, there must be something in it. Titty would never say all that if her father thought differently. 

Now she had started reading the newspapers regularly, Nancy found them very confusing. That weekend there had been a fight between some of Oswald Moseley's men and some other men. Nancy found it hard to imagine why. Life was becoming very odd.

There were other things, too in favour of Titty's arguments. It was evident, for example, that naval officials thought highly of Titty. Nancy thought with rather angrily about the way that craggy faced admiral had spoken to Titty, and had even suggested the navy needed her. Titty had not made any mention of what she might or might not have done. It seemed to Nancy ridiculous that someone as insignificant as Titty should be thought of in that way. Little Titty, who had walked with all day in her battered boots and that well worn shirt that looked as though it might have been Roger's, scruffy old shorts and faded headscarf, how could she be needed? 

Nancy had to admit to herself that she had been more tired than Titty at the end of their walk off the Cheviot. It was a conundrum. She dismissed her friend thinking she would never be a person of consequence, and though Titty might become a teacher or lecturer she would never, for all her education, earn as much as Nancy herself was earning now. Nancy decided she wouldn't bother much with Titty anymore. She wanted different things from life than Titty did, and in that Nancy was almost certainly right. She was cross, too, because it must have been obvious to the Ackroyds that Titty was very fit, fitter than her. Comfortingly, Nancy thought that in fact this was not true, for had Titty been asked to run a short distance with a hockey stick she would have been no match for Nancy. And Nancy, she thought happily, would always be able to hit a tennis ball harder and more accurately. 

However, that weekend made Nancy decide she would have a real good think about what she wanted out of life. She thought she knew, excitement, lots of money and to be honest with herself plenty of sex. She thought about Titty and what she did. She could not imagine herself enjoying living as Titty did, studying and working in a tiny room in a college where there was always someone to spy on what you did and what time you came in at night. Even if Titty said it wasn't all work, what with rowing on the Cam, and having picnics or having cocoa in each other's rooms at night, that did not seem to Nancy to be very enjoyable either. It was certainly not exciting. That sort of life was just not for her. Nor would she enjoy running, nor any sport where you spent so much time alone. 

Besides, Nancy thought, no-one tells me what to do, but at the end of term Titty would go home to Mrs Walker, who could be very strict even if she was a good sport. And Titty seemed content to exist on grants rather than earn decent money, in spite of all that education she had acquired. There are lots of women in education, Nancy thought, but very few who are pilots, let alone a partner in a business. She made a firm decision that she would persuade the partners to make her an offer as soon as possible, and to get Mr Lisle to increase her allowance.

Nancy did not have to wait long. On Monday morning, there was a note pinned to her flying kit, 'Be ready Friday and Saturday, we're having a long meeting. All three planes are booked in for a full service and there will be no flying.' That day Nancy flew to Grangemouth, back to Glasgow and then home to Newcastle. She followed Mark in from the hangers and they reached the shed together. "Why the Dickens are we all grounded on Friday and Saturday? I've had to put off a date."

Mark knew, though not from Nancy, that she had plenty of dates. Nothing wrong in that, he thought, she's an attractive woman. He decided to stir it up, and said, "It's all your sister's fault."

"Peggy! What's she been doing, for goodness sake?" said Nancy bristling.

Mark had a hint of mockery in his voice when he said provocatively, "Now, what would she say or do?"

Nancy exclaimed in annoyance, "What the hell has she been up? Poking her nose in?"

Mark had discovered it was easy to rile Nancy and changed tone, "She works for an insurance company doesn't she? Pete had been thinking about changing our cover for some time...."

"Why now?" Nancy asked.

"....apparently he thinks our cover is insufficient. He heard Roger and Peggy discussing race and what it actually covered. When he got back, he looked up the policies and got a shock. The subject came up when he was at lunch with us on Sunday, and we had a long discussion about what we were doing." Mark looked at Nancy's flushed face and sighed. "I wouldn't be too cross if I were you, you'll be happy by the end of that meeting," he said.

"What bloody insurance, and what has Roger's car got to do with it?" Nancy was about to blow her top, but suddenly Mark's last comment penetrated her consciousness. "Sorry," she said, "I've had Titty up at the weekend. We didn't see eye to eye, and I'm out of sorts." 

Mark said, "Pete thinks we are substantially under insured. He'll talk about it at the weekend." He left it at that and said no more. 

Mark thought that from what he had just heard, it might be more natural for Titty to be friendly with Peggy. Pete had mentioned that at Portsmouth it was Peggy who had put her arm round Titty and given her a second hanky to cry into. 

Eventually Friday came, and Nancy found herself taxiing Tiger Lily across to the maintenance hanger. She wasn't best pleased, for she was impatient with the idea of sitting down talking when she wanted to be flying. When she got back to the shed she found Mr Hughes sitting at Pete's desk, while Mark's desk had been moved in front of Pete's. Pete was already talking to Mr Hughes. When she and Mark sat down, Pete said, "We were discussing the company last weekend, and all manner of options came up, so here is an agenda of what we need to talk about. The first thing I am going to suggest that Mark acts as note taker and Mr Hughes as Chairman, simply because he has far and away more business experience than any of us." 

The agenda was a long list, and Nancy glanced down it. Items that caught her eye were insurance, cash flow, war, and then future of Air Services. Crossly, she wrote off the hockey practice she'd been hoping to attend that night. 

Pete said, "The first item is insurance. I have been thinking about it for some time, but it was Peggy Blackett who pushed me to investigate our current cover. I discovered that the aircraft are insured, but the parcels we carry and we ourselves are not." 

Nancy asked, "What's my sister got to do with it?"

But Pete was not to be diverted, "Last week I was taking a part to Aberdeen, and discovered it was worth 400 quid. I asked our contractor what would happen if I dropped it, and he said we'd be liable for a bill for £400. While I'm on the same theme, if we had a passenger accident we'd be in real trouble. And just supposing I made a muck up of a landing and badly damaged a plane, we've no cover for that either. At present the only insurance we've got is third party, which means the only thing covered is damage we might do to other people or buildings. It just isn't adequate, and even if decent insurance costs us a couple of hundred quid a year extra, it's worth it." 

Suddenly the penny dropped for Nancy, so the objections she was going to raise about unnecessary expense collapsed. Pete's arguments were sound. 

Mr Hughes asked, "Any objections?"

Pete said, "I suggest we get three quotes. I've asked for quotes from Phillip, our old chap, and I took the liberty of ringing Peggy too for a quote. I propose to get another quote from the Co-Operative office."

Mr Hughes asked again, "Any objections?" 

There were none, but Nancy was gob-smacked. Pete's idea went through just like that, bang and the company was signed up.

"Next on the agenda is war," said Pete, "And what happens to the business if there is one."

Nancy said, "Surely this talk of there being a war is rubbish?"

Mr Hughes said, "Whoa, just a minute, I don't think you'll be saying that in two or three year's time. War is on the way, and I doubt if anything will stop it."

Pete said, "That is precisely what those navy blokes who were ferrying us about when we went to Plymouth told me, and they gave me a list of reasons why it should be so. When we were talking, the older of the two told me that if I didn't believe him I was to ask Titty Walker. He told me she knew more about it than they did. I think we all realised the Walkers are well regarded by the Navy, and would not be surprised if they know something we don't."

Nancy burst out, "The Walkers have been scaremongering about a war for ages. I had Titty up last weekend, and she knows nothing, I asked her. Anyway, what is Titty likely to know about it?"

There was a lengthy silence and then, "Well," said Pete, "For what it's worth, those navy fellas pointed in her direction. And as for what she told you, Nancy, it's my guess she knows a lot more than she would ever let on."

"I don't believe that, she's only a student at university. She spends all her time with a nose in a book, and is as dreamy as they come," said Nancy.

Pete said, brusquely, "I suspect that if Titty Walker does know something she'd never let onto anyone, let alone us. Small she may be, pretty she certainly is, but she's nobody's fool. I can well imagine that her translation work is excellent, and if someone told me she had been working for the navy I wouldn't be one bit surprised. Nor would I be surprised if somewhere down the line she had seen or heard a lot more about things than any of us. She's a tough little thing."

"Oh, rubbish," said Nancy.

"All right, Nancy," said Pete, "You think it's rubbish, let's accept that, but what did she say to you over last weekend?"

"She said that the Japanese would be involved. That's stupid - I don't see how they would affect us?"

Mr Hughes said, "I agree with Miss Walker. The Japanese are prefectly capable of threatening our colonies, including India and Australia. And many of our imports, including food, come from other countries. Threatening our Merchant Marine would be a very effective weopan, and the Japanese are fighting a war in China at the moment, They're a battle hardened nation. "

"Well, I admit I had never thought of that," conceded Nancy, "But Titty's father is in the China Seas. Then she said, which I suppose is true, that if warships was involved she was afraid for Commander Walker, John, and Roger. I think that is at the bottom of all her talk of war. She's scared, and I can understand that."

"I can understand that too." said Pete, "From that point of view and from what I saw of John, and therefore I guess his father, they would be the first people into battle."

Nancy went on, "Then Titty went on about the Germans building battleships. She didn't seem very impressed when I said that I thought our sailors would be more than a match for the Germans. Somewhere I'm sure I've heard her say that John was scared submarines would attack merchant ships. But they'd never do that, they're civilian."

Mr Hughes said grimly, "They did in the last war, and so did we. You know, I find it quite credible that young Miss Walker has done translation for the navy and knows a thing or two. After all, nobody seems to dispute she's clever, and if she can translate on the hoof then she's a bit too handy living over the shop. And from what you've told me, Pete, she's very well respected. I'm not sure it can be that comfortable for a young woman to know as much as she clearly does."

"I doubt if she would know any state secrets. But, yes," said Nancy, "Although Titty didn't think there would be a war for some years."

Pete shrugged, "If there is a war I will sign up as a pilot. If they'd have me."

"I would too," said Mark.

Pete said, "And, in the event of war, our little Gypsies would be far too vulnerable to enemy fighters, especially flying all over the place like we are at present. And if we couldn't fly, there would no business anyway. That's why I put this point on the agenda."

"We would surely be able to outfly any German fighters?" said Nancy.

It was Mark who said glumly, "I'm told the German planes can outfly any plane we've got. Our Hurricane is a splendid warhorse, but their Messersmidts are faster and more manoeuvrable. In comparison, our Tigers are antiquated."

Nancy decided to shut up and keep her thoughts to herself. She thought the men were silly, and as to Pete's ideas about Titty, they were certainly not true. She did not believe Titty knew anything. 

But Pete went on remorselessly, "If there were a war we would have to think seriously about closing the business down. I suppose we could fly at night, but that would not be very comfortable. Let's hope Nancy's right and it never comes to that, but I still think we should prepare."

Nancy said, "Why should we be targets? We fly small planes, civilian planes."

It was Mark who said, "I think we'd be targets. I know we fly passengers, but if you told me that a lot of the parts we fly have got something to do with arms, I wouldn't be surprised.That's why the engineering companies can afford to use us in the first place." 

Mr Hughes asked, "Is that understood, gentlemen? In the event of war, we wind up the business for the duration."

There were no dissenters, although the three men knew Nancy didn't agree with them. But it was coffee time, and with one of Mrs Rolls' big rock buns and a mug of coffee inside her Nancy felt very much better. 

"Right," said Pete, "The big item of the day is, are we ready for this, that I propose the dissolution of the Air Services Partnership."

"What?" said Nancy, startled.

Pete grinned, "Thought that would get you going."

"You beast!" said Nancy.

Pete said, "What I propose is indeed the dissolution of the partnership. I suggest we replace it with a limited company instead."

Nancy and Mark said nothing for a minute, and then Mark said cautiously, "What are the advantages? There must be some, or you wouldn't be proposing to change?"

Pete said, "I've been thinking about issuing private shares since just after the fuel business, so for a while now. That could have led us into a nasty corner, and we were very lucky. I believe that being a limited company would set us up for the future. It would cost us a bit to set up, and mean a lot of work for us all. It would also mean we would have to produce properly certified accounts, and register the company. We would be required to comply with the Companies Acts, but I gather that's not too demanding. The big advantage for us is that were something to go wrong, we would not be personally liable for debts. Those would be limited to the assets of the company."

Mr Hughes said, "My little business is a limited company, and although it means a bit of clerical work, it is not much bother. The advantages, in my opinion, far outweigh the disadvantages. Even for me it protects my own money were something to go wrong."

Mark asked, "Does that mean we'd be quoted on the stock exchange?"

"No," said Mr Hughes, "That is only when you become a public company, and we are a long way from that."

Nancy asked, "But if we got big enough we would?"

Mr Hughes laughed and said, "I suppose so."

Mark said, "Tell us more of what you had in mind, Pete; I'm still all at sea." 

Pete went on, "We'd set ourselves up as a private company with directors. We would need a Chairman, and I would propose we ask Mr Hughes to be that. Then we three would be directors. That would be our board."

"You said three?" said Mark.

"Yes," said Pete, "There would be you, Nancy and me, besides Mr Hughes."

"Me!" exclaimed Nancy.

Pete said, "Yes, why not you? You do nearly as much flying as us, and you set up the paperwork of the business better than us, too."

Nancy said, "Golly, me a director?" She had seen her hopes of being a partner receding into the distance, and now suddenly she was being offered the chance of being a director of a company. 

But Pete had more to say, "Sorry, Nancy, but because you are under 21, you may not be able to be a director, but we can come to an arrangement with your trustees to hold the directorship on your behalf. I say that because we would need to be share holders, so we need to put money into the business, Mr Hughes is prepared to put up £4000, and I'll put up £1000."

Mark said, "I could put in £500, and maybe a bit more." 

Nancy was thoroughly embarrassed. She said, "I don't think I could manage more than £50." All of a sudden the great chance to be a director seemed to be disappearing.

Pete surprised her when he said, "Those were the figures I guessed at. You're not to worry about putting in much less than the rest of us. Providing we are successful, you'll get bonuses, and perhaps you can provide more money then. When you set up a business, you expect to pay out an amount for capital items - basically for us the aircraft; then you usually need twice that for expenses and money, to pay for all the running costs of operating the business. We need fuel, money in the bank, stationery, and fees for our agent and insurance. Luckily, our business is already operating, so we're not starting from scratch either with equipment or costs. Anyway," said Pete, "That's a lot to think about, and it's already late. I suggest we have some lunch and just talk about it casually." 

Mr Hughes said, "Pete's right. When you started up, as I've said before, I never imagined the company would grow as big as it is now. You're now a well established business, and I too think it would be sensible to create a private limited company. It is not just a question making an investment, you need to decide about the value of the shares and how many you'd issue. Shares are often valued at a £1." 

Nancy asked, " I don't think I'll ever understand all of that, but if we all put money in, does that not mean the company is in debt by that amount?"

"Not really," said Mr Hughes, "You hold shares and that's your investment. The value of the company is something rather different. That amounts to the value of the assets, for example the aircraft and your your equipment and tools, and all the company cash resources, less debts, including anything you've bought and not paid for. So the value of the business may be more or less than the amount of the original shares. You always hope that it is more."

Nancy said doubtfully, "I think I'm beginning to understand."

Mr Hughes said, "Can I explain it in relation to my little business? My shares are valued at £1. Today I own 995 of them, and 5 are owned by my solicitor. My company secretary is my accountant. That is one side of the equation, and then there is the value of the company's assets. I, or rather my company, owns my garage building. It's valued at £500, and the lease of the land at £250. My tools are £650, cash in my bank accounts say £800, and then I currently have about £100 of parts and two cars at £150 the pair; total value is £2450. That means, because there are 1000 shares, each share is now valued at £2 9s 0p." 

Mark had been scribbling the figures down. He said, "I do think I understand, far better than I did before. But then, that way can you work out if the value of your shares goes up or down?"

Mr Hughes said, "Well, what I've told you is the value today. Now suppose tomorrow I sold those two cars for £350 and banked the money. Then the value of the company goes up to £2,800, £2 16s a share. In bigger and more complex companies it is harder to work out the value. So on the stock exchange, investors guess the value of a company, so they may value shares up or down. Therefore shares are valued at different amounts over time, although sometimes those guesses are wrong. All investors expect the value of their company to go up." 

Nancy said, "Ah, now I begin to see why you speak of closing down the partnership and starting up the limited company. They're different things. So who would have investments in our company?"

Pete said, "Mr Hughes, myself, Mark and you, Nancy, and that's all."

Nancy said, "I like it." 

They talked on about setting up a company and what it meant for them. Pete emphasised the fact he thought it would be damned hard work. He said as they were about to part, "Tomorrow, I think we need to talk about money. I'm not convinced we are as good about being careful the money we've got than we were once. No fault of yours, Nancy, I know you're spending far more time in the air, but our accounts are no longer as well kept as they were when you were in the office."

Mr Hughes said, "As chairman to be of Air Services Ltd, I too, have a good deal to say about money. The great advantage of being a limited company is that those with money in the business are no longer liable, should things go wrong."

Nancy asked, "What things?"

Mr Hughes said, "If you crashed and caused damage or injury, and the insurance company found an excuse for getting out of paying so you would have to pay, or if the company got seriously into debt."

Nancy said, "I thought that was why we were canging our insurance?"

Pete said, "Yes. But suppose a doctor said I wasn't to fly, and I went up and crashed, then our insurancers could probably get out of paying. But there are many other reasons for setting ourselves up as a limited company and separating our money from the company's money. I'm going to ask my solicitor about the legal proces. Agreed?" 

They all approved Pete's idea, and with that went their separate ways home. Nancy was pleased at the thought of being a director, but cross about what had been said about war and how everyone else thought about Titty. Their fears about the possibility of a war, she was sure, were totally groundless. And it was still her view that Titty was insignificant and just a student. From what Titty had told Nancy, all she did was study and write essays. So far as Nancy was concerned, that was glorified school work. 

She hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

However, with dinner her mood improved, and at home that Friday evening Nancy hugged herself. Perhaps it hadn't been such a bad day after all. If the company made her a director, they were bound to give her a pay rise, and then there would be the bonuses Pete mentioned. She might persuade them to not to spend money on silly things like auditors, and being too pernickety safety. All Pete's talk of the need for insurance seemed to Nancy to be over the top. But being a director was something she could boast about. It was, she thought, really very important.

Mr Hughes talked to Pete about Nancy. He was doubtful. Pete said, "I think we're right to offer her a directorship, but I hope she shows a greater sense of responsibility than she has shown recently. Her blindness to the prospect of war concerns me, too. I feel her friend is far better informed than she believes." 

It was before 8 o'clock when they started the meeting the next day. Pete said "The first item on my agenda today is cash flow, and concerns both the income that we get, and our outgoings. I got a shock the other day when I looked at the account book, because I worked out we had in fact only about £10 in the bank. We had a lot more money than that because it was in the deposit account, but we hadn't made any arrangements to transfer money from one account to the other, or to have an overdraft in case of emergences."

Nancy asked, "What is an overdraft?"

Pete said, "A loan from the bank. If you go overdrawn, effectively borrow money, you have to pay for it of course."

Mark asked, "How did that happen? We've been very busy, very busy indeed, we're all working our butts off."

"Yes," said Pete, "That was the problem. This is what had happened; it began because of the fuel bill. The airfield used to put the fuel bill in about once every three months, and even then it did not include any fuel we had used in the last month. After the thefts, they wrote to us and told us they would be putting in the bill once a month. We had all read that letter, because we all put our initials on it." Pete sighed. "What we forgot was the first fuel bill was for four month's supply, a considerable amount. And that month we had an expensive repair to my plane, and paid three months rent. That was all in the same week. All right, we just had enough money to cover, but only just. Yet, because we were busy, we had a lot of invoices that had not been paid. I posted those on the Wednesday of that week, as soon as I realised, and by the following Saturday we had plenty of money. But we should have been prepared. And if a cheque could had bounced in those few days, we could have been in serious trouble."

Mark said, "Well, why not demand that our customers pay more promptly?"

Pete said, "We already ask for payment within a month, which is what many people do. No-one at the moment - even Mr Hindley - is a substantial late payer. So, sorry to be so blunt, but I think the problem lies with us. We need to have a system where we know how much money we are likely pay out each week by the end of the previous week. I should add," he added, "It wasn't me who realised there was a problem. Carl drew attention to it."

"I'll do those accounts every week and see how much we owe," said Mark, "By doing them, I'll understand more about the finances of the business."

Pete said, "Don't forget that we shall receive money in as well as having to pay out."

"Ought we to hold less money in the deposit account and more in the current account?" asked Nancy.

Pete said, "I'm reluctant to do that as a system, because we ought not to have money just sloshing about in the current account. We earn no interest on it there. Besides, by holding money in the deposit account we have money to pay back Mr Hughes for buying the Tiger Lily." 

It was the first time that Nancy knew that Tiger Lily had been bought by Mr Hughes. It made her wonder just how much money Mr Hughes had, for he never behaved as though he was a rich man. He lived in a modest house, and never drove a new or flashy car, rather the reverse. So far as she knew he did not go out a lot, or go on big holidays. 

She brought her mind sharply back to the meeting where Mr Hughes had been talking.

Mr Hughes said, "What concerns me, especially as we might be setting up a limited company, is whether some of the work you do is profitable. Last week, Pete, you took a part to Plymouth and you charged £10 for the trip, but I calculate that it cost the company at least £20 in fuel and maintenance. That represents a loss of £10, and that sort of thing just won't do."

"Do we know how often we do a job that makes a loss?" asked Mark.

Mr Hughes said, "I'll answer that, you don't. There are many contributing factors, but one of the things that may be a problem is if you do a job involving staying away at night. I don't think you build those costs into your invoices. So you can see the impact on the company, if we go back to yesterday's conversation, before that trip the value of the business was, say, £5000. After it, the company would be valued at £4,990. It is not quite as simple as that in the real world, but that is a rough illustration of what happens."

Nancy was immediately interested, because she knew she was often away and liked those trips. She would need to be careful. 

Pete said, "How do we solve the problem?"

Nancy suggested, "I'll have a long look at what we do. I think we could have a system of costs for landing and taking off, a charge per mile, and a charge for a night out. We could have a standard charge, but whatever we do, it is going to be so complicated and take up lots of time."

Mark said, "I know that the charges for landing and take-off vary tremendously. Does that mean we cost that accurately now?"

Pete said, "I didn't think about it, perhaps we should have bands to speed up costing. It seems crazy. I wonder how much it really costs."

Nancy said, "I'll look at that too. But how do we get this stuff out to our agent?"

Mr Hughes surprised them when he said, "I can tell you that most of what is arranged by Charley is profitable, sometimes very profitable. He is better at costing than you are."

Pete said, "Good, that's settled. Thank you, Nancy. Now, I am also concerned about what we have called 'our rainy day account'. Ever since we started the business every so often I've put amounts into an account which only I've had access to. A saving account, if you will. At first these were very small amounts, but now they are substantial. This has not been a systematic saving, to be honest, I've just done it when I've thought about it."

Nancy said, "Had you done that before you found we were short of cash?"

Pete grinned and said, "No. That is another point. When Carl does his weekly summary of our financial summery, he excludes the rainy day account. I think that's wrong, and it should be included."

"But if it's not available to spend, why should it be?" asked Nancy.

Pete answered, "Because it is part of the assets of the business, and would have to be included if we set up a limited company."

Nancy persisted, "Well if it's not available to us to spend, why bother?"

Pete said, "Because it's the law, it represents part of the profits of the business."

Nancy again, "But if we can't spend it, how can it be an asset? Why is it important in the first place? Why should we have it anyway? Particularly if it reduces the profit we make? Wouldn't it better to spend that on fuel, or hotels?"

Pete said, "Because planes wear out. We are not like pleasure pilots, using our planes just at weekends. We are using our planes every day, and parts are going to need replacing. Sooner or later we are going to need new engines, or even new planes, and that will be expensive."

Nancy said, "But I thought that's why you're insisting we have insurance."

Pete said, "Insurance is to cover crashes and accidents. You can't claim on insurance for wear and tear, that has to come out of the company funds."

Mr Hughes turned to Nancy and said, "Nancy, do you see the point of Pete's rainy day account?"

Nancy said, "Yes, I do now, but all this is sending my head spinning. Can we have a coffee?"

They did. But they had no sooner sat down than Mr Hughes said, "These accounts concern me. You must have been doing partnership accounts, as we discussed when we started? And allowing for depreciation?"

"No, we haven't." said Pete, "I remember you mentioning it, but I didn't understand. How does that work?"

So while they had their coffee Mr Hughes explained that the depreciation that should be shown in their accounts was to cover the fall in value, over time, of everything they owned of any substantial value. He said, the value of that depreciation could be deducted before tax, and was therefore very useful. He went on, "I'm surprised, and a bit shocked you're not doing including it. It's something your accountant should have been covering."

Pete said, "So, should we have two rainy day accounts? One to cover depreciation, deductible before tax, and also one for any sums I put aside for an emergency?"

Mr Hughes said, "No, I don't think you need to do that. There are lots of reasons to have the money in one place. But you ought to know how much of the company value will be affected by depreciation, and you also need to know what is put aside for a rainy day." 

Pete said, "Crumbs, now you've got my head spinning. But we must get this right. If we set ourselves up as a limited company,I assume we shall have to declare our value, and that will be taxable. and if we all become directors, we shall have two sources of income, one our salaries, secondly every now and then, say every six months, we shall have a profits distribution."

"Wowee," said Nancy, "I did not realize that. That's even more reason for not including the rainy day account, because if we didn't, we would not be taxed on it."

Pete said, "Oh no, we're not doing that. I'm prepared to accept our accounts might include mistakes, but I'm not in the business of cheating the government. I know of someone who has a couple of shops. He banks all the money in his till bar the float, except on Fridays, when he puts all his takings in a hideaway somewhere. He does not pay tax on that money, and he calls that his rainy day account.He's very careful about it, but it's illegal and I wouldn't do it. If we didn't declare our rainy day account we'd be doing the same thing, except ours would be traceable."

"Ah," said Mr Hughes "But if some of what you put aside is shown as depreciation, that isn't profit and you won't pay tax on that."

"I still don't see why that account's important, when we con't spend the money?" said Nancy.

Pete was exasperated, "It's accountancy rules, you ask your sister. She understands these things far better than I do, she's studied accountancy."

Nancy said, "Well, have it your own way, but I think having a rainy day account is silly, and declaring it to the tax people even sillier." The one thing she was not going to do was to ask Peggy about accountancy. She thought this notion of putting money on one side was unnecessary, and being so scrupulous was not necessary either. It was clear, though, that now was not the time to say so,Nancy thought she'd do some research first - she knew of at least one businessman who did not adhere strictly to the law, and she admired him.

Pete said gruffly, "Well, I still want to put money away to one side in case of an emergency."

Mark and Mr Hughes agreed with him. Nancy said, "Well, you're ganging up on me, so it will have to be as you say." 

Shortly after that they had a sandwich lunch and Nancy left to play hockey. The others stayed put and went on to discuss the setting up of the company. During the conversation Mark admitted he had been skimping on the checks he made of Carl's account books. Pete said he hoped Nancy was doing hers, and Mark said he was sure she was, because she took the account books home on Saturdays. Pete grimaced and grunted. He said, "I'm not going back on offering her a directorship, but I wish she wasn't so headstrong and immature."

Mark said reflectively, "If she weren't so headstrong she wouldn't be so good at flying, and she generates a lot of business for us."

Pete's comment was, "Hopefully as she grows older she'll grow more mature. I got the impression she thought we, and particularly me, were being absurdly straight-laced." He sighed. "Enough of this. I know Nancy's relationship with Titty Walker is on something of a slippery slope, but I hear a lot about that little girl. When I flew into North Weald the other Friday I stayed overnight with an old school pal of mine, he used to run a bit and on Saturday afternoon we went to an athletics match at Chigwell..."

Mark said, "I think I know what's coming."

"...they had a women's three mile race, so all these women lined up. Mark's guessed right, at the end of the line there was Titty. I recognised her because she was small. One mile out there were four girls together, and tagging along behind was Titty. My mate says, 'Watch the little girl at the back!' Two laps more and we're down to two girls with Titty still behind, and then comes another lap and a bit, away she goes, single bunch of hair streaming behind her and no chance of any of the others catching up. Then when it came to the medal giving, she looked as though she hated it."

"Well done, Titty," said Mark.

Pete said, "My friend told me he'd seen her win before. I did not tell him I'd met her."

Mr Hughes, "She is an interesting person." 

Nancy, meanwhile, was in the midst of playing a mean game of hockey. She was good at hockey and had an eye for the ball. Her size, strength and weight made her a formidable opponent and she was fast, very fast, over short distances. She was not afraid of using her natural authority to intimidate an opponent, and she occasionally gave away penalties because she was prepared to be rough. But her contribution to the team meant they won more often. 

That night she stayed out very late indeed. When in the morning Nancy came to borrow some sugar, Mrs Ackroyd suggested she was in danger of burning the candle at both ends. Nancy, irritated and with a headache, resolved that were she made a director, she would find a place of her own where such things did not happen.

In the weeks that followed Nancy and Mark became more conscientious about checking what Carl's accounts. They checked, as discussed, outgoings against cheque stubs, and income against invoices, and the themselves against their work diary. They could not fault Carl's work, and after a while first Mark and then Nancy became less careful. Mark became involved with other interests and stopped altogether. Nancy took to taking the books home with good intentions, but with hockey and her social life she hardly went further than that. 

They were to regret their carelessness, although Carl was careful to remind them to initial his work.


	14. Robert McCullock

Titty looked upwards. The rope snaked upwards across the steep rock above her, and she could hear Chris breathing heavily with the effort of the climb. He liked to lead climbs, and they had paired up because Basil was away in the States and Ralph had been unable to make this week. Chris had agreed to climb with her, saying he knew Titty to be a reliable and safe second. 

Below her two young men were making their way slowly up the steep scree below the rock face. To the right Rannoch Moor, wild, desolate, and grim stretched as far as the eye could see. To her left was Glencoe with its fiercely steep mountains. The mountains looked relatively benign today under a blue sky, and sunshine warmed the hard rock. Titty had seen it look very different when the wind was wild and the cloud down over the mountains. Then, the rocks looked grim and threatening. 

Yesterday they had spent the day on the Anarch Eagach ridge with Annette Chris' girlfriend and a few others, and four days earlier they had taken the long trip north to complete the Five Sisters of Kintail. But Annette almost never climbed, although she loved to walk. They were all making the best of the great weather that for once had come while the university climbing club was in Scotland. Otherwise, Titty had climbed on Buchaille Etive Moor's giant face with two other women. There was something special about the big mountain that dominated the entrance to Glencoe. But today was their last day, tomorrow they would drive south and she would be home. Today they would meet up with Annette and her friends on the summit have the last of the tea and sandwiches, scramble down back to the tents, and prepare to leave for the south.

Titty loved being in Scotland and to climb there topped it off for her.

From above her there was a shout, "I'm up," and then a few minutes later, "Climb when you're ready." 

Titty undid her belay, Chris hauled in the spare rope, and Titty started up the pitch. She climbed upwards, revelling in the exposure. It was so different, and so much harder than climbing in the Lake District. She collected the slings Chris had used to protect himself as he had climbed. Below her, the two young men had just begun their ascent. It was a long pitch, but although there was an occasional hesitation there was nothing that was beyond her. When she reached Chris the sweat was pouring off her. They exchanged belays and Chris set out on the next pitch, which was shorter and harder. It took Chris a little time, he was a big man and used his strength and reach to climb methodically, while when Titty followed him up she used her agility and balance. Chris lead the next pitch, shouted down, and Titty climbed up to him. Once again they exchanged belays. This was the big one, a long hard pitch, and three quarters way up was the crux, five, six perhaps very hard moves.

Chris set off. He was gone about ten minutes when there was a yell and a large stone clattered past Titty. She shouted, "Below." There was an ominous silence. 

"Are you OK?" Titty shouted.

"No," shouted Chris, "I've hurt my hand."

What should have been a pleasant if demanding day had suddenly become an epic. There was a short delay, and then a second shout, "I'm coming down." When Chris arrived his hand was bleeding and he was obviously in pain. He tied on.

"Got any first aid?" Titty asked.

"Plasters," said Chris, between his teeth.

Titty delved in her rucksack and pulled out a tube of antiseptic and a bandage. She squeezed out some antiseptic cream on to the bloody grazes and fumbled. The tube bounced off down the face. She wound the bandage tightly round his hand and fingers. They looked at each other and Chris said, "I can't lead and I can't abseil."

Titty said, "I don't fancy climbing down."

Chris glanced down, "Nor I." He hesitated. "We could wait for those two."

Titty looked down. "They're very slow. We need to get you down as soon as possible. I'll lead."

Chris said, "It's got the crux on it."

Titty said, "I know."

She undid the belay, took the slings, and climbed away. The rope snaked upwards, moving steadily, then stopped as Titty had to climb down a move or two. She leaned out from the face, checked her holds, and then climbed again. She reached the crux and stopped, fitted a sling, and again leaned back and surveyed the next moves., Then she made up her mind, and using her balance she moved quickly over the next few moves. Chris was mercifully silent. Titty had climbed the crux. A sense of relief washed over her. 'Steady,' she thought to herself. This was the moment when it would be so easy to make a mistake. She was beginning to enjoy herself and was thankful the rock was warm, if it had been cold things would have been more difficult. She fitted another sling and climbed slowly on to the stance. It was with great relief and triumph that she shouted down, "I'm up."

"Oh, well done," floated up the face.

Titty belayed, and yelled, "Climb when you're ready. Sorry, Chris, I've used a lot of runners."

"OK," Chris shouted.

Very slowly the rope began to pile on the flat rock of the stance. Groans and curses floated up the face. Every so often Chris asked for a tight rope, and there was a long wait as he struggled up the crux. Twice Titty had to haul on the rope with all her strength. At last Chris appeared over the ledge and struggled onto the stance. They both were breathing hard. They looked at each other, and Chris grinned crookedly and said, "That was damned hard and really painful. I'm completely knackered." 

Blood was seeping through the bandage, but they had no more lint. Instead, Titty dug in Chris' rucksack and found a bar of chocolate, which they shared. 

Titty said, "According to the guidebook, it is easier from now on."

Chris said, "I bloody well hope so."

They were just about to set off when a shout came from below, "Can you give us a top rope over the crux?"

Titty peered over the ledge. The two young men had got off the route, and she would have to traverse to the left a few feet to send down her rope. Chris belayed her as well as he could, and she delicately made her way 20' or more to the west, dropped the rope and brought the first of the lads up. The second was more skilled. Eventually, the two lads joined them on the ledge. 

With three men to lead off the mountain, Titty wasted no time climbing away up the face again. The guide book was right, this pitch was easier, but not that easy. It was not going to be easy for Chris. When he arrived at the next belay he was white and his hands were chilled. Titty had brought him up successfully, but she had to set off again. She used slings whenever she thought they might be necessary, knowing that if she fell it meant both of them might come off, for the chances of Chris holding her were minimal. The last pitch was long and more difficult in one or two places than the previous pitch. She reached the last stance thankfully, and brought Chris up. There was more cursing and swearing, and Chris looked terrible when he finally reached the stance, white faced and tired. Three times Titty had had to haul Chris up a move or two. It had taken up all the strength she had. 

They walked very slowly up to the summit of the mountain, where Annette and her two companions were waiting.

Annette said, "You two took your time didn't - what have you done with your hand? Who did that?" She touched the bandage lightly, but Chris yelped with pain.

Annette looked at Titty questioningly. "A stone hit it," said Titty bleakly.

They sat down and drank tea, and ate their sandwiches. The two lads arrived, the elder asking Titty, "Had you climbed that pitch before?"

"No," said Titty.

"I've no idea how you did it, or that traverse. We'd have been in a mess without you," he said.

Titty said shortly, "I had to."

The small party gathered themselves and walked off the summit, beginning to scramble down the little path to the base of the mountain. Three men caught them up and were passing when the leader saw Chris' hand and stopped.

He said tersely, "Show me."

Chris obediently held out his bloody hand, and the man felt it gently. Chris yelped. The man said, "You've busted your fingers."

Chris said, "A stone hit my hand just below the crux."

He looked at them. "Who got you off?"

"Titty did," Chris said, nodding in her direction.

There was a whistle, and he turned a pair of hard black eyes on Titty, "Well done," he said "And when you get down you're to come to the Kingshouse, and I'll bandage it. I'm a doctor." He went on down, fast. 

They made their way down slowly. Annette said, "Who's going to drive Chris' Jaguar? I haven't got the nerve."

"I will," said Titty.

They went into the Kingshouse, where their chance acquaintence emerged from the back and said, "You, Sir, go into the kitchen. You girls go into the lounge, there's coffee and scones. This chap isn't going to want you about for the next half hour." He seemed accustomed to issuing orders and being obeyed. 

The women did as they were told, and found the doctor's companions already there. Annette said anxiously, to no one in particular, "Will he be alright?"

One of doctor's friends said, "He won't get any better treatment, Robert's good."

A mug of coffee from the tall silver coffee pots, and two scones each between them, and then Chris, arrived looking rather white. His hand was swathed in a bandage and held in a sling. With him came the tall doctor, followed by another man. The doctor said without ceremony, "Bugger off Mac, nothing for you here."

The man began, "But Robert...."

The doctor turned on him and said, "Scarper." 

The man went.

"Journalist, looking for a scoop," he explained, as he handed Annette a small bottle. "Two of these before he goes to bed and two in the morning, and maybe one at lunchtime. When you get him home he's to go straight to casualty. Do you understand?"

Annette said, "Yes. Thank you."

The doctor turned to his companions. "Come on, I'll be late." 

Their thanks were given to his back. 

They looked at each other, and Annette said, "Man of few words."

Chris said with a tinge of envy, "He knew how to order people about. Golly he knew what he was about, but it hurts like hell. Let's get back to the tents." 

When they went to pay they discovered their coffee and scones had already been paid for. Chris asked, "Are you sure you can drive, Titty?"

"Yes," she said, and did.

Whatever the grey pills were they sent Chris to sleep. He woke fuzzy headed and in pain, but everyone helped to strike camp and load the Jaguar. Titty drove them all to Chris' home just outside Cambridge. His father took him on to hospital, dropping Titty off at the station to make her way home. She gave her mother a brief description of her week. 

Climbing seemed a long way away when, at the end of the following week, her mother took her to a race where Titty came a reasonable, but disappointing third. 

She spent the next week preparing for Lucerne, completing an essay for submission when she got there. Three weeks later, she left Shotley one Friday to arrive at the college early Saturday afternoon. Since she had done the trip before, she did not find it too taxing. She had managed to pare her luggage down compared with the previous year and was confident she was going to enjoy her three week stay. She came through the door of the big hall just as the principal was crossing it; he saw her and welcomed her, kissing her lightly on both cheeks. Last year she had been allocated a room high up in the corner of the building, and was allocated the same room again. There she was able look out to the mountains, and the fragrance of the mountain air and the flowers in the gardens flowed into the room through the open window. Titty put away her belongings and went down to the dining room for a coffee and a pastry. She had a weakness for those pastries, and had been looking forward to them since setting out from Shotley. Enjoying the flaky pastry ad chocolate, so different from home, she had been sitting there a few minutes when a tall man entered and went to collect a coffee. There was something oddly familiar about him, but Titty could not remembr his name and returned to her reverie. It was interrupted when a voice with a Scottish inflection said, "Excuse me, may I join you?" 

Titty looked up, and there was the man. Close, she knew him instantly. The fierce coal black eyes were mesmerising, but expression was kindly. It was the doctor from the Kingshouse Hotel. 

"Of course," said Titty.

He sat down, and said softly, "Robert McCullock, Titty Walker, we didn't have a chance to exchange names last time we met."

"I did not expect to meet you here," said Titty, rather inadequately.

"Oh, I get around. How is Master Chris and his pretty girl friend, Annette, wasn't it? I heard he got home safely. So you them drove all the way back to Cambridge?" Dr McCullock's voice was sharp, but his eyes were kind.

"Yes," said Titty "I enjoyed it. Chris is being a bit of a bear, I believe. They told him he wasn't to drive for at least three weeks, which didn't please him at all."

The doctor chuckled wickedly, the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkling. He said, "I can imagine. Now tell me, you do seem to appear in the oddest places. What are you doing here?"

Titty said, "Oh, I came last year, and I was invited to come again this year. I loved it so much."

"You did, did you," Dr McCulloch said without any hesitation, "And what do you do when you're not hauling young men off cliff faces, or gadding about Europe?"

Titty said, "Oh, I came straight here. I'm at Cambridge, I start my last year shortly after I get back."

He persisted, "So how was it that you came last year?"

"Oh, my tutor entered me for an essay competition last year, and I got a scholarship. Otherwise we could not have afforded it." 

That statement told the doctor quite a lot about Titty Walker. 

She went on, "Then this year they waived half the fee, and I won an essay prize, so I was able to come again." 

Her shinning eyes told him how much that meant to her. 

"I don't know how it was I was chosen. But," said Titty. "How is it you are here? I thought you were a doctor?"

He said, "So I am, but because I travel as part of my duties I need to keep my language skills up, too. Besides, the principal finds it useful to have a doctor about the place."

Titty felt very shy sitting there with this handsome man paying her attention. She said, "I enjoyed it so much last time, but I was afraid that they wouldn't want me this year. I was very surprised I was able to come."

"Well," he said, "How many other girls from your year are here?"

"Oh, none, but I don't suppose they applied, or they were doing something else."

He said, "I thought that might be the case. So your tutor must be Mrs Pritchard?"

"Yes, do you know her?" Titty asked.

"Vaguely," the doctor said, "Look, I haven't formerly booked in yet, and I must go and pay my dues."

They left the dining room together and parted. Climbing the polished stairs to her room, Titty thought, 'Well, now he knows a great deal about me. but I know very little about him. He seemed to have an exceptional skill at asking seemingly innocuous questions that lead you to give away more than you intended. Fancy meeting him here, and why should he pay me any attention?'

She used the hour or so before dinner to revise her essay, before submitting it that evening. There was just time to rewrite one page that wasn't as good as it might be.

At the evening meal she met up with two girls from last year, Griselle and Helga. They caught up with each others' news, but they were only three of a gaggle of young women who had met the previous year and promised to meet up with each other this year, too. When Titty asked, "Where are the others?"

Griselle said "She did not know. and Helga had heard only from Susanne. She had been turned down, much to her fury, and the department where she studied had blocked her from coming anyway." They heard, they said, nothing of anyone else. 

But Titty, struck by how both hesitated, thought this might not be wholly true. She was conscious that this year Griselle and Helga dressed more expensively than she did, and seemed to behave as though they had a lot more money. She felt somewhat overawed, and something of a dormouse. They had a self- confidence she was only too well aware she did not have. Griselle questioned her about what she had been doing and where she was likely to end up. Titty fenced, as she did about where she lived. Something alerted her that there was a purpose behind Griselle's questions.

Then Helga asked about Titty's running and how she was getting on. So far as Titty could remember, she had not mentioned racing the previous year. She had answered, "Reasonably."

Helga said sharply, "What does that mean?"

Titty acknowledged, "Oh, I had some successes."

Griselle said, "Is that all?" She added, "An acquaintance of mine is a good athlete. She went across to England full of confidence she was going to win, and came back talking about a little English girl who won easily and could run like the wind."

Titty said, ingenuously, "There are lots of small English girls. Do you know her name?"

Neither Griselle nor Helga did, so that conversation ended. But then Helga and Griselle began to question Titty about training facilities in England, and telling her about the facilities in Germany that sounded much better. They both quizzed her about training and were amazed she wasn't coached and wasn't a member of a club. They all moved off into the lounge, but on her way Titty went and submitted her essay to the secretary who was dealing with the students' submissions. When she reached the lounge most of the students were already there. She joined a group, but it soon broke up and she found herself in a corner. Suddenly the Scottish doctor was standing in front of her. He said quietly, "Be careful of Griselle and Helga. They are not quite what they seem." 

Titty nodded, and the doctor gave her a sharp look before he moved quickly on. She was wondering what Robert McCullock really did do and what he knew, but distractedly got into conversation with a girl who attended her French classes. When she moved on, Griselle and Helga cornered her, demanding, "What are you are doing, monopolising the handsomest man in the room! How did you know him?"

Titty said innocently, "Oh, I met him very briefly on a Scottish Ben."

Griselle said, "Is that all?, I didn't know you went walking in Scotland!"

Helga asked, "Did you go with him?"

Titty said, "Oh no, he walked much faster than I can. He passed me on the track there, and we recognised each other when we got here. Do you know him? I think he may have been here before."

Helga said, "Oh, I've only met him very briefly myself. Unfortunately."

Suddenly the room felt full of menace, and Titty did not like it. She needed to get out as soon as she could. She was questioned again by Griselle, "Do you often go Scotland, then?"

Titty said, "Oh, no."

Helga asked, "You don't walk as well as run?" 

Titty said nothing for a minute, and then brought puzzlement into her voice, "Yes? Of course I go for walks in the countryside, why shouldn't I?"

Griselle said, "Doesn't your coach object because it might harm your training?"

Titty said again, flatly, "I don't have a coach."

They knew they were getting nowhere, and both girls moved on. One of the French tutors came up and had a lively discussion with Titty about a passage that they were to discuss the next day. She was sure she was being tested out to see how she re-acted. She was quite happy about it, because the tutor had talked to other students of French in the room. But she was tired and went upstairs to bed wondering if she'd sleep with so much swirling round in her head. In the event, she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

When she woke the sun was streaming through her open window. She was afraid it was late, but a glance at the clock reassured her. Titty lay there reviewing the events of the previous day, and she decided that she needed to put the German pair off, so she would play dumb and make herself sound like a country bumpkin. Hopefully, they'd lay off. Again she wondered just what Robert McCullock was doing in Lausanne, but she decided she wasn't going to try to find out.

In a larger, grander, and two-bedded room facing the front of the building, Helga and Griselle were discussing Titty. They decided that she was not as intelligent as all that, and though she was good at languages she didn't know much about anything else. They had failed to really establish ifTitty was the runner who had beaten their colleague, but decided it must be someone else. She could not be very good, because she evidently did not merit a coach. It was probable that she knew nothing beyond languages and walking in the countryside. They decided they'd have one more go at Titty, and then transfer their attention to two Frenchmen. 

Griselle said, "I wish we been asked to target Robert McCullock. We are sure he's up to something, and he is fabulously handsome. Why couldn't they have asked us to target him?"

In Shotley, Mrs Walker woke feeling rather unwell. But she went and collected the post, and saw she had a letter from a friend living in Scotland who wrote to her about every six months or so. Among other things, she had written, 'Were you aware that your daughter is the subject of interest up here? She is seen as a heroine. Apparently, despite being so small and light, she dragged her boyfriend off Buchaille Etive Mor. Molly, that's a big mountain in Glencoe. Apparently he hurt his hand, couldn't climb on, and she dragged him up the mountain. I thought people go up mountains on their feet! I am sure you knew that your daughter walked on dangerous mountains in Scotland. I hope her boyfriend is a nice chap, I understand they were camping somewhere in Glencoe. She then drove his car back south very fast.' 

Mrs Walker sighed. She really could cope much better without her friend knowing so much, and so obviously trying to make trouble. Titty had been quite open about the fact she was camping with the university climbing club, and that she climbed with male friends. 'Why ever not?' thought Mrs Walker. She also knew one of the university climbers was called Chris, and another Ralph. Mrs Walker smiled wryly, for all Titty had told her about the incident was that there had been a problem, Chris had hurt his hand badly, and she had helped him off the mountain. It was typical of her younger daughter to pass the incident off in an off-hand way. 

In Switzerland Titty buried herself in study - preparation and essays - and thoroughly enjoyed it. She had determined that on Saturday when there were no lectures or tutorials she would go rambling in the fields and woods round about the college. On the Friday afternoon, she arranged that the caterers should give her a packed lunch, and they said they would give her a thermos flask of coffee.

In the morning she came into the hall in her shorts and sweater, with her rucksack, as Robert McCullock came down the other staircase similarly dressed. He stopped, looked her up and down and smiled, "Off out for a ramble?"

"Yes," Titty said.

"May I join you?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," Titty said. 

"I'll get my lunch. You've got one too, I see, well prepared!"

Titty went outside and waited for Dr McCulloch sitting on the low wall. In their room overlooking the entrance Griselle and Helga watched her wait. Griselle said, "She looks as though she's going off with Dr McCulloch. Damn, that means he won't be at the café. I was hoping he would be, I'd like to try and get off with him."

The man in question came through the college door stuffing his lunch into a large rucksack. He saw Titty and smiled, and thought she looked very small and vulnerable in her old blouse, scruffy sweater and shorts. He wondered how on earth this little chit of a lass got a big chap like Chris off that route. She was a gutsy lass. 

They went off together, and found the paths easily since they were well marked and accorded with the map Titty had borrowed. Robert, it seemed, knew the area fairly well. He could pick out and identify the surrounding mountains. They talked about Switzerland and its role as the centre of finance in Europe, and it became obvious that while Robert knew far more about finance than Titty did, he took pleasure in explaining. 

When they stopped for lunch Titty discovered the doctor had another interest and skill, wild flowers. Somehow she hadn't expected that. Well away from intruders they discussed the possible war and what course it might take. Robert asked lots of questions about what Commander Walker and John thought about naval war, and the course it might take, and what was important. He was particularly interested in John's views about submarine warfare. He said that he had wondered about the effectiveness of submarines. Titty found was that he could view her arguments with an unusual degree of objectivity. They had set out as Dr McCullock and Miss Walker, and returned as Robert and Titty. 

Griselle saw them return quite early, and she and Helga decided they had fallen out. They were somewhat abashed when they found Robert and Titty sitting together chatting away very amicably, having coffee and a pastry each in the dining room. 

At dinner Titty was alone, so Griselle and Helga sat down with her. Helga asked, "Don't you live on the Shotley naval base? Surely you must know lots of the interesting things that go on there."

Titty wondered how they knew where she lived. She supposed she must have told them last year. "Yes," she said, "I do live with my parents on the base, and I see the navy chaps doing things, but nothing very interesting. I've really never got involved with what goes on there." She added brightly, "Except we borrow a naval dinghy!"

"But you must meet lots of chaps. Don't you go out with them? There must be great social events and drinking." 

Titty felt a spurt of anger, they were as bad as Nancy and her endless talk of boyfriends.

She said, "Drinking isn't encouraged on the base. There is a bar, but it is not greatly used so far as I know, and I've never been there. I don't even know where it is. There are few social events on the base, the cafeteria is pretty basic. and I seldom go there." 

Helga persisted, "You must go out with your parents and meet lots of young officers and hear what they do on exercise?"

Titty said briskly, "No, I don't."

Helga said, "So you don't know what goes on. Do navy people from other countries visit?"

Titty said blithely, "How should I know?" 

Griselle asked her "Did you enjoy going out with Dr McCullock?"

Helga asked, "What did you do?" 

Titty was close to telling the girls to mind their own business, but instead she said, "You know the guide book in the hall? Well, I knew they had a spare copy, so I borrowed it and we did one of the walks in the book." 

This was not quite true, for they had fitted two of the walks together to make a longer and more interesting walk. Robert had suggested they did the something similar the following Saturday. 

Titty didn't consider that was any business of Griselle and Helga, either.

Griselle said, "You know he's married? Though, he does not live with his wife any more, I'm told. He's dumb to have allowed his fashionable and attractive wife off the hook, especially when he's rich and would have to pay a large amount in settlement of any divorce."

If Griselle had hoped this would put Titty off, she failed. Titty decided Robert's wife was a fool to give up marriage to such an interesting person. Her scepticism must have been obvious, for Helga kicked Griselle under the table and asked, "It must be interesting talking to the sailors when they come back? What sort of places do they go?"

"I don't know," said Titty, "I've never asked." It was true she had never asked, but she never needed to, for Titty had always been a safe pair of ears and her father's friends knew she could be trusted. 

"You must have been out with some of the sailors?" asked Griselle.

"No, I haven't," insisted Titty again, "I've never been out with anyone on the base." She could have said, or any other men either, but she didn't bother. 

Griselle and Helga finished their main course and left the dining room. Titty decided after all she would have another coffee. She looked up and found herself looking up into the face of Robert McCulloch whose lips were twitching. She got her hanky out and dabbed her eyes, trying to hide her own grin. 

To Titty's great relief, next day at breakfast the two German girls were sitting with the two young Frenchmen. Titty began to chat with a young Oxford graduate called Georgina, who had come to Lucerne that year for the first time after graduating. She had avoided Titty because the German girls seemed to be monopolising her, and was surprised when Titty admitted she had got fed up with their attentions. 

Titty had a busy day in which she submitted two more essays. At lunch, she noticed that Helga and Griselle were lunching with a German professor. They seemed in earnest conversation in low voices, and did not look happy. 

The afternoon was busy, too, a series of exercises in French which were conducted at normal conversational speed and were very demanding. After the normal lesson the professor had a further session with Titty. As a result, she had no chance of having a wash or break before dinner, and she felt a little worn out. She was sitting rather tiredly over her soup and roll when a voice above her said, "May I join you again?"

Titty looked up into the handsome face of Robert McCulloch and smiled.

The doctor was dazzled. He said quietly and conversationally, "Titty Walker, I didn't know you were able to lie with such professional ease, and without so much a blush."

Titty looked at him puzzled, and said, angrily, "I wasn't having them poke their noses into what I do and don't do. That's my business, not theirs, especially after what you said about them."

Robert went on, "Telling Griselle and Helga you knew nothing about what goes on at the Shotley base, when nothing could be further from the truth. I hear you regularly hobnob with everyone from the Base Commander to the marines."

Stung again, Titty said crossly, "What business was it of theirs?"

Robert said, "I think you will find they think it is very much their business. Among whatever other information, they were partly here to find out what you know. I can only compliment you, since you've done an excellent job and they now believe and are reporting you know nothing. And somewhat dumb," the doctor added, one sceptical eyebrow raised.

Titty said somewhat tautly, " How do you know what they want to know? Why should I be a target of their nosiness? I don't intend to give away stuff I might or might not know. Anyway, how do you know I live at Shotley?. I've never told you about what I do."

Robert said, "You certainly haven't, but how I know is a secret even from you." He tapped his nose smiling as he did so. "Though those two are right in one respect. You should know I am married." He sighed, and looked Titty in the eyes. "I lived with my wife for all of a week before she went back to her lover."

"I'm sorry," said Titty.

Suddenly Robert's tone changed and he said bitterly, "Don't be too sorry for me. I am infinitely better off without her in everyway. I was a fool to have married her in the first place, and she provides me with ample evidence for divorce. It is just that I am too proud to do anything about it. The only person who's sorry at our split is my wretched stepmother. But let's talk about something happier."

They did. Titty asked him about how it was Robert knew so much about wild flowers. She decided that Dr McCulloch was far from dumb, rather the opposite. After the meal Robert disappeared. Titty attended a discussion in French about French politics; she found that Georgina knew far more about the subject than she did, and conversation was a real challenge. She was pleased, because she felt that she was slowly extending her understanding of the way the world worked. 

Griselle had obviously hoped to put Titty off Robert McCulloch, and now the thought that she had failed only magnified view that Titty Walker was a fool. At lunch, however, it was essential that she and Helga make one last effort to ensure Titty did not know the important naval information they had been told she might. They agreed that. since Helga was just a little less abrasive than Griselle, Helga should have one last go at questioning Titty about what she did at home. She did not find out anything. Titty Walker seemed to live a very sheltered life, apart from climbing with the university climbing club. She seemed to spend most of her time at home with her mother, doing a bit of sailing in borrowed naval dinghies. She seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with officers on the Shotley base. Instead, Titty plied Helga with questions about mountains in Germany and Austria. 

The pair decided that Titty Walker had two fixations, language and climbing. She was also totally disinterested in men. They could safely dismiss her as not knowing anything useful.

Meanwhile, on a rainy afternoon, Titty worked away in her room on a German essay. But her attention wandered. How, she wondered, did Robert McCulloch know so much about what she did when she was at the base? He must have known that she trained with the marines and was familiar with the base officer - he might possibly know she did translation for the navy. But how? Titty had certainly not told him. So, he was keeping things to himself too.

At dinner Titty ate with Georgina and talked politics. She learned that Georgina's father was a politician and a Member of Parliament, which might explain how it was she understood so much about politics. Titty talked generally about the navy and Cambridge. She was about to climb the stairs when Robert McCulloch appeared, and told her he wouldn't be about for the next couple of days, but would be back on Saturday and ready for a walk. Happy with the idea, Titty went on upstairs to complete her essay. 

On Friday she again asked for a sandwich lunch for Saturday, and borrowed the spare guide book. She had hardly seen Helga or Griselle since Helga's questions about what she did on the base. Nor had she seen Robert. She wondered whether he would appear, but when Titty collected her lunch she had noticed there was a second package in the kitchen. She went and sat in the sun on a wall on the front of the college, and waited. A little later than the previous week, and just when she was beginning to wonder if he would come at all, Robert appeared. He looked tired, and there was a bandage on his left hand. But he smiled when he saw her, and Titty smiled back.

Once again it struck him how small and slight she was. In shorts and a blouse she looked absurdly young, much too young to attend a course like this so far from home, or translate for the navy. asked if she had a plan, and learning she had he said he'd follow where she led. So they climbed up to just below the snow line and wandered along grass paths. Titty said she had chosen this walk because the guide book claimed the views were fabulous, and they were. At lunchtime they sat on a rug Robert had packed, with a rock behind to lean on. 

 

There they discussed the world and its woes, in particular the lack of preparation for war, both psychologically and militarily. On the spur of the moment Titty asked Robert about the brown shirts,the SA, and Robert told her everything he knew about Hitler's henchmen who carried out enforcement of his wishes. They discussed those English aristocrats who favoured Hitler and believed the country should agree either to remain neutral or join Germany should it come to war. Robert said that he knew more about what was going inside Germany than he could to talk about. He admitted he travelled to Germany fairly frequently discussing, as he put it, "bones' . He told that Titty that the German doctors were far ahead of Britain in techniques that improved people's mobility after a disabling injury. 

Then Robert asked after Chris, and seemed disappointed that his hand was not better than it was. He 'tut-tutted' when Titty told him Chris was thinking he'd have to give up the idea of being a soldier. Then he caught Titty out when he told her he came to Cambridge several times a year for consultations with other doctors. He told her that in his opinion, medical science was only just on the threshold of endless improvement in the way bone injuries were treated. When Titty asked what he meant, she was told the whole process of doctoring climbing injuries from first bandage to physiotherapy. When she asked him if she might have damaged Chris' fingers when she bandaged his hand, Robert said,, "Possibly, but we have no way of knowing. What you've got to remember is that had you not done what you did, when you did it, Chris would certainly very much worse." He stopped and gazed out at the mountain scenery, and then went on, "It could have been unimaginably worse. Do you always have a bandage with you?"

"Yes," Titty said.

"Like now?" he asked. 

"Yes," she told him.

"Good girl," Robert said lightly, and was silent, still gazing out at the surrounding mountains with unseeing eyes. Titty didn't interrupt, and after a while he asked her, "What gave you the idea?" 

"Daddy insisted we all carry a small first aid kit, and gave us all a list of what should be in it," Titty told him.

"Sometime," Robert said, "May I have a look at your father's list?"

Titty said, "Of course." She dug in her rucksack and drew out a small oilskin bag with a drawstring, produced a list written neatly in Indian ink on a piece of material, and handed it to him.

Robert looked at it for a minute and said simply, "That's good. I'll send you a small tube of burn cream. I can get very small ones, it can be very useful." He looked at her for a minute and said, "Just because I said your bandaging might have damaged Chris' hand, in the circumstances no one could have done it better. If you hadn't done what you did he really would have been a whole lot worse off than he is. But I would like to see his hand, it sounds as if things should have been done better than it seems they were, at the hospital. Do you know if the feeling has come back into his fingers?"

"Last time I spoke to him he had too much pain to tell," Titty said.

"Oh," said Robert, and looked very thoughtful.

Quite suddenly Titty had the feeling of being safe and looked after. They walked on, wound their way down from the snowline, and eventually arrived back at the college just in time for coffee and pastry again. Nothing was arranged, but that evening they arrived at the dining room door at the same time and had their dinner sitting side by side. 

Griselle and Helga came in with the two Frenchmen, chattering noisily together. They spoke animatedly through their meal. Robert, watching them, said quietly "I think Griselle and Helga have enjoyed themselves today. I wonder if they've found out anything they shouldn't from those two? Whatever, they haven't enjoyed themselves half as much as I have." Robert made no effort to explain what he meant. 

After the meal he disappeared, and Titty did not see him again until late one evening. She was looking out of her window when he appeared from a wood in the grounds, looking very weary. He crossed the lawn quite slowly. 'Where has he been?' she wondered, 'To be so tired?' There was something about Robert McCulloch she did not understand. 

Titty returned to the desk and forgot about him, working on her final essay into the small hours. She had entered two essays into separate competitions, besides the normal essays the tutors had required. It was not laid down in black and white but it was understood that students such as herself were expected to do so.

There would be a last formal dinner on the Friday, and a prize giving for those essays considered to be the best. Three prizes for four subjects, and a further prize for the best essay of the course. Titty enjoyed the last few days of the course, spending much of the time with Georgina. They joined up with an older girl called Miriam, already a graduate from Oxford, working together in the library. On Thursday Titty had been polishing her last effort, which she submitted minutes before the deadline. She arrived for dinner that night just as Miriam and Georgina were leaving. Collecting her soup and roll, she sat down atn a table at the back that she had almost made her own. She was just about to start eating when a soft voice said above her, "May I join you once again?" 

Titty looked up and it was Robert McCulloch. She was shocked, for he looked terribly tired. "Of course you can," She said, and wanted to ask why he was so tired, but he forestalled her. 

"Don't ask," he said, "Because you won't hear the truth."

Titty enjoyed the meal nonetheless, and they talked of Scotland and of climbing and walking there. Robert shed some of the tiredness for animation, and Titty was conscious for the first time of just how much he loved his native land. He talked of the wild wilderness of North West Scotland, long treks with a friend in the demanding, lonely countryside with its jagged mountains, wild seaboard and the deserted white sandy beaches. When the meal came to an end he said suddenly, "I leave early tomorrow. But I visit Cambridge from time to time in term time. May I have your address and look you up?" 

They exchanged addresses, both using pencil on bits of paper taken from their pockets. Titty wended her way up the stairs wondering whether anything would come of it, conscious that she hoped it would. She was aware she liked the tall softly spoken doctor, very much.

On the Friday there were no formal lectures, but a series of informal discussions where the tutors seemed to have some other agenda. There was something slightly odd about those lectures, and Titty felt as though she was being picked on. Mealtimes though were happy times, as girls exchanged addresses with newly made friends and the talk was of what they would do next and how they hoped to meet again next year. 

Titty always felt at the formal dinners as though she was poorly prepared for such events, for the other girls always seemed so much better dressed and smarter than she was, and so much more grown up. Even her new friends, Georgina and Muriel, she thought looked smarter than she was. Georgina in particular looked sophisticated and older than her years, while Titty looked younger. At the prize giving the previous year she had been commended, but had won nothing. This year, early in the announcement, she got a commendation for her Italian essay, but nothing for her submission for the French essay not even a commendation. Griselle and Helga made it obvious they expected to win prizes for their English submissions, but only Helga got a commendation. At last it came to the award for the best essay submitted. The Principal read out, "The prize for the best essay of the course goes to Titty Walker, for her essay on French language and politics and economics."

Blushing furiously, Titty had to make her way to the top table. Hers was a popular choice with the students, and had been greeted with an ovation. For the dance that followed, the Principal insisted on leading her out for the first dance. He danced with Titty again before the evening was out, and said to her as it ended, "By next year you will have graduated, I hope you'll come again, perhaps in a different capacity. Perhaps to do a bit of tutoring for us."

Titty said, "If it all works out, I'd love to."

His reply caught her off balance. "We are all agreed you could make a useful contribution. And next time, Helga and Griselle will not be here probing into your personnel and professional life."

Titty forgot to be shy, and enjoyed herself tremendously, but she slipped away about half past 11. She would have to up at 5 to catch the train home. indeed, that morning she caught it with just ten minutes to spare, but by the time the train was pulling out of the station she was asleep with an open book on her lap. She missed the best of the Swiss scenery, and by the time she woke the waiter was coming round with coffee for at least the second time. The journey became tedious, and she longed to be home. 

Her mother was not at Ipswich station as she had hoped. Titty had to wait an hour for the bus, and when she finally got home she let herself in to find Mrs Walker sitting listlessly in a chair. She acknowledged Titty's presence without her usual hug and stream of questions. In her bedroom drawer, Titty found a note from Roger saying, 'Mummy hasn't been well for the last few days. Hope you had a lovely time. Love Roge'. 

Mrs Walker seemed to have eaten very little that day, and there was little fresh food in the house. Titty made herself egg on toast and persuaded her mother to have some toast and jam. In the morning, her mother seemed worse. It was only at her insistence that Mrs Walker agreed to be taken to the doctor. Titty was frightened. Her mother was never ill, and now she was she seemed very unwell. 

At the surgery Mrs Walker went in alone, but after some time the doctor came to the waiting room and instead of asking for the next patient he beckoned to Titty. Back in the office, her mother was sitting miserably in the single easy chair. The doctor told her he believed her mother had a kidney infection, but was not certain. He gave Titty some pills and told her her mother must go to bed as soon as she got home and stay there. He had arranged for a taxi to take them both home, and told Titty the nurse would come in at lunchtime. He told her bluntly her mother was to drink as much water as possible. 

At lunch time, Titty persuaded her mother to eat half a piece of toast, although the loaf was stale. When the District Nurse came in she went straight up to Mrs Walker, took a blood sample, and gave Titty with some little pots telling her the doctor wanted a urine samples. She made Mrs Walker drink two glasses of water before she left the bedroom. 

Downstairs the nurse told Titty her mother was seriously ill. She said briskly, "What have you eaten since you got back from Switzerland?" 

Titty had to admit she had toast. 

The nurse demanded, "What food is in the house?"

Titty said, "Just stale bread and a few tins. But what can I do?" Before she knew what was happening she and the nurse were going through the cupboards, and there was a long list of food. The nurse said "I'll arrange for this to be delivered." 

Titty gave her mother a drink of Bovril and ate the last of the bread herself. Within an hour one of the marines had delivered the bags of food. Mrs Walker had fallen asleep. Titty had the best wash she had had since returning from Switzerland. Then the doctor came and spent some time with her mother. When he came downstairs, he gave her three sets of pills, and said that although he needed to have it confirmed, he was treating her mother for kidney infection. He told Mrs Walker would be ill for some days, and was running a very high temperature. He went on, "What have you eaten since returning from Switzerland?" 

To Titty's acknowledgement, not much, he looked at her sternly and said, "Titty, you must feed yourself properly, you're to cook something for you and your mother." 

When he had gone Titty made some scrambled egg, but by the time she had fed her mother a few mouthfuls hers was cold and unpalatable. She ate it anyway. At half past seven the District Nurse was back. She went up to Mrs Walker and when she came down she started on Titty, demanding to know what she had eaten. When Titty finally admitted a bit of scrambled egg the nurse pursed her lips and proceeded to make lunch, virtually standing over Titty while she ate it. But Titty acknowledged she felt much better than she had been. 

The Doctor came in the morning and saw Mrs Walker, but said little. Titty gathered up her books and papers, and took them into her mother's room. Her mother tossed and turned. Titty worked on. When she brought her mother a drink she was soaked in sweat, and seemed barely to recognise her. Mrs Walker tossed and turned all night while Titty sat in the chair. In the morning the nurse came again, and helped her change the bed. 

When she said goodbye to the nurse, on the doorstep was an egg custard, and part way through the morning their neighbour, wife of the training officer, called and asked for a shopping list. Mrs Walker tossed and turned all morning, and when the nurse came at lunchtime she helped Titty change the bedding again. The neighbour came with the shopping; she took one look at Titty and said tersely, "Did you sleep properly last night?"

Titty admitted, "No." 

The neighbour said, "I'll come round after I've given Sam his meal and sit with your mother while you go to bed, you look worn out, pet." 

She did. Titty thought she'd find it impossible to sleep, but the next thing she knew was that she was being woken by the neighbour. The doctor came again, said it was definitely a kidney infection, and gave her stronger medication. He took her mother's temperature and shook his head. 

Titty asked him "Ought I to tell Daddy?"

He looked at her bleakly and said, "Yes, give Rosemary a note and she'll have it-" then stopped and said, "No, give me your message and I'll have it sent though the navy telegraph." 

Titty wrote, 'Daddy, Mummy is ill with a kidney infection, looking after her. Love Titty.' 

The doctor read it, nodded, and took it away with him.

She remembered on Saturday she was supposed to be running in the first cross race of the season. She was not going to be able to go, dug out the papers, rang the organizer and scratched. It was another rough night; she had not had breakfast when the nurse came. They changed the bed between them, and the nurse helped to feed Mrs Walker some egg and milk. She had found a cake on the doorstep and brought it in. Then the neighbour arrived and told the nurse, Anthea, "I'll see Titty has breakfast, and then sit with her mother while she gets some sleep." 

This time Titty set her alarm. The doctor came after lunch, gave her mother a glass of medicine, and told Titty her mother would sleep. but uneasily. There was a dinner for one left on the doorstep.The doctor again came while she was eating it. He gave her mother another glass of medicine, and Rosemary came shortly afterwards and they changed the bed again. Titty had never done so much washing in her life. The doctor had left the medicine in the kitchen and told Titty to repeat the dose around midnight. He came again at 8, woke her mother and gave her a very thorough examination, gave her more medicine and left more for Titty to give her about twelve. Titty gave her mother some egg and milk, but Mrs Walker collapsed with tiredness before she had finished it. 

Shortly afterwards the neighbour came in. She brought shopping, and came in with a cake and another dinner. She took one look at Titty and said, "Bed for you, scoot, and don't you dare put the alarm on this time!" Titty went. She woke after 6, and, hearing voices, dashed into her mother's bedroom. The doctor was there, with the neighbour. He motioned them out, smiling, and said, "Your mother's over the worst, Thank God she's looked after herself, or it would have been much worse. She'll sleep now, hopefully late into the morning, and wake feeling more herself. But I'll be in first thing just to check." 

Titty said, "I haven't told Daddy." 

The doctor said kindly, "I will, Titty"

Titty worked till past midnight, and then slept in the easy chair in her mother's bedroom and woke feeling considerably better. The doctor came again as he said he would, but seeing Mrs Walker was still sleeping he left her, giving Titty a small bottle of grey pills. He asked, "When are you due to go back to Cambridge?"

Titty told him, "Next Thursday."

"There's no reason at present why you shouldn't. Now on Saturday the marines are having a training run. So long as your mother has continues to improve you should go with them and give yourself some fresh air. I'll come in Monday morning, but you are to ring me if you are at all worried." He left.

Titty could only say, "Yes, doctor," though she wasn't convinced it would be so.

The neighbour came in and suggested Titty should go shopping and get some fresh air. She did, but it took a long time, because so many people stopped her to ask her how her mother was. When she returned Rosemary was there and they were changing the sheets again, but for once they were not soaked in sweat. Her mother had just woken up and looked more herself, far better than she had since Titty had come home. She was hungry, and made short work of scrambled egg, more toast and honey and an apple. 

Titty made herself a mixture of vegetables in egg in the frying pan for lunch, and found that a stew for two had been left on the doorstep. Her mother had a short sleep after lunch, and with Titty working in the room while she slept. On Saturday morning Mrs Walker woke a little late, insisted on getting up and sitting in the lounge, and visitors came to see how she was. 

Titty slipped out and sent a telegram to her father, 'Daddy, Mummy much better. Love Titty.' But the clerk refused to send it and told her to take it to the offices where it would be sent via the navy's telegraph. 

She joined the marines for a run and found herself slow, really slow, but agreed with the instructor she would join them again on Monday. When she got home, she had to insist it was her and not her mother who got lunch. After lunch, her mother was very tired and went to bed, and stayed there. Their evening dinner was the first proper meal Titty had cooked since she had come back from Switzerland, and she and her mother ate it in their pyjamas, feeling very lazy. Sunday was unseasonably warm, so she and her mother walked slowly down to the quay. When they got back her mother complained about feeling as weak as a kitten. 

Monday she trained again with the marines, who presented her with a box of chocolates for which they received very confused but grateful thanks. 

The instructor was no sooner in his office than his phone rang. "Bob, here." 

"Yes, Sir?" 'What on earth does the CO want me for now?' thought the Instructor.

"How's Titty?"

The instructor said, "She was tired and slow on Saturday, and only a bit faster today."

The CO said, "We need her for Tuesday, another translation session." 

The instructor thought grimly, 'Do they never let up on the kid?' But he knew Titty, and said, "She'd do it, Sir."

The CO said, "I know she'll do it. She'd do it if she was dying on her feet. I told'em they ought to give her a break, but they insisted they had no one else."

A marine was in the office and gathered what was being said. He looked at the instructor and said, "Crumbs, they pile it on, she's only a kid."

The instructor shrugged, "I know, but what I can do?"

"Nothing, sir, but they do."

So once again Titty presented herself at the CO's office, at 8 am this time, having given her mother breakfast. She had to work hard. and was puzzled one of the Frenchmen seemed to accord her even more respect than usual. At lunch she slipped away to ensure her mother ate a decent meal. The CO said, "We'll have to do without our ace translator over lunch. Her mother's been ill, and she's needed at home."

The Frenchman, said, "Can she do all things, nurse, translate and win tops?"

"Explain what tops means?" asked the civil servant.

The CO said, "I know what he means. She's being nurse now; she's translated all the morning, and they seem to know she won a prize when she went to the Lausanne language school. They told me it was for the best essay of the session."

The Frenchman nodded. The civil servant asked what the essay was about, the Frenchman laughed, and the CO said, "I believe it was in French, about the French political scene, and none too complementary." 

"But right and fair." said the Frenchman. "She is very clever and very pretty." The coversation ended as Titty arrived back.

Much later when they were alone the Admiral asked, "Molly Walker ill?" 

The CO said, "Yes, sir. She's had a kidney infection and been very poorly."

The Admiral asked, "Does Ted know?"

The CO said, "Yes, sir. Titty and our MO kept him informed."

The Admiral asked, "What's this about her winning prizes while in Lausanne? And how did that Frenchman know when I didn't?"

The CO said, "I was told by a clerk in the offices, and he'd heard in a round about way from someone in London. The Frenchman knew because his students came back bemoaning the fact this little English girl won and they didn't."

"Did she tell us?"

The CO laughed and said, "Not she, she would never do that. I'm willing to bet she hasn't told Molly." 

The Admiral shook his head.

Back at home Rosemary the District Nurse was waiting for Titty on the doorstep. She had more medicine from the doctor, and took Mrs Walker's temperature and blood pressure, and took blood and urine samples. Mrs Walker said, "I'm going to get better now. I've had enough of being ill."

Rosemary said bluntly, "Probably, yes, but don't try and do too much too soon or you'll be ill again. We can't afford that, so just go slow, understand?"

Mrs Walker said primly, "Yes, Ma'am."

Rosemary turned to see Titty standing there. She felt a stab of pity, the girl looked tired and drawn with shadows under her eyes. She looked fragile.

Rosemary left, but when the doctor's surgery was over she went into him and said tersely, "Titty Walker." 

He looked at her grimly and said, "Yes, what about her?"

She said, "She's tired to death, they've had her translating all day, and she rushed home at lunch time to see her mother had a decent dinner. She was back translating again this afternoon. They ask too much of that girl."

The doctor looked at her and said, "You're too late, brought coals to Newcastle you have. I passed her in the corridor after this afternoon's session and it was all she could do to acknowledge me. I've had words with the CO. The Admiral was still with him. I expect I've blotted my copy book. I didn't spare him."

Two days later Titty travelled back to Cambridge.

But the navy at Shotley were not finished with Titty Walker, even in her absence. After she had left for Cambridge the Admiral rang the Base Commander and asked after Mrs Walker, learning that she was improving but would have a lengthy convalescence. The Admiral told him that Ted Walker was being allowed home in a fortnight or three weeks. He went on, "I need to know how Titty is? I am told that while in Lucerne she was quizzed over several days about what she knew about the base, and who she mixed with. Bearing in mind she is privy to a good deal of material, has she said anything we would wish not to be made public?"

The CO said, "I doubt if she said a thing. Mind you, sir, we've never asked her not to do so."

The Admiral said, "I know, we're being criticised for that. How is she?"

The CO said, "She went up to Cambridge very tired, which is hardly surprising given that she hardly slept while Molly was ill."

The Admiral went on, "I've found out we've been paying her a shilling a day for that translation work. They undertook it would be 10/-, then some busy body stopped the rate. It was a similar story with the work they send her. I'm ensuring we pay her decent money. Could you find out from Molly how the lass is doing?"

The CO said, "Yes, sir." The phone went dead. This was a job he didn't want to undertake. Quizzing Molly Walker about her daughter was not a job he fancied, especially as Molly was barely over her illness. But it wouldn't do to put it off. He rang her, and asked if he could come round. As he suspected, Molly was not her usual feisty self. 

They discussed Titty at some length and what she had done. Mrs Walker admitted she knew very little about what had gone on at Lucerne, as she had been too ill to question Titty. Her daughter hadn't told her she had won the most prestigious prize of the course. She had said nothing about being quizzed by anyone. 

Bob said, "Molly, the thing is that one way or another, through her translation work young Titty has a great deal of information our enemies would give an arm and a leg to know. Information that a young person as vulnerable as she shouldn't know. The Germans will do virtually anything to get stuff from us, and if they can find a way of doing so, they'll use it. While in Switzerland they had two girls quizzing Titty for information about the base."

Mrs Walker said, "I feared that might be the case. But Titty has never been the most open of my children. John's more open than Titty is. She'll tell us she doesn't think she's done well, or not as well as she should, but when she has a success it takes a knife to get it from her. I suspect she would know a secret when she heard one and it would be likewise."

Bob said, "That's what I told his nibs."

Mrs Walker said, "Bob, I am worried. She has set her heart on getting a first, and for her that means working furiously hard. The university do like her to run for them as well, and she went up to Cambridge tired out already. All the good she did on holidays was undone because of looking after me immediately after coming home from Lucerne. You know she got this chap off a cliff in Scotland?"

"Yes, I had heard," Bob said.

"Well, I got a very brief story from Titty, and the world seems to know far more about my daughter than I do."

Bob said, "You know Ted's coming home?"

Mrs Walker said, "Yes, he wrote to say so."

Bob said, "Will Titty come home then?"

Mrs Walker said, "I hope so, she's a Daddy's girl you know."

"Perhaps you might find out more then?" Bob said.

Molly Walker said, "Perhaps, but don't bank on it. I am glad that they intend to pay her a bit more. But if the university and the Admiralty could give her an easier run this academic year, I'd be very grateful."


	15. Nancy's Life

One Friday evening Nancy flew in with Dr Duggan from Cardiff. As usual there was a little bit of office work to do before she cycled home. She went to her room and had a wash, changed out of her flying trousers for a skirt and went out to the Ackroyd's for a meal as she always did. There was no one about, and the farm yard seemed strangely quiet. She knocked on the farmhouse door and got no reply, and when she peered through the window no one appeared to be around. This was unheard of, and she returned to her room puzzled. She was certain that very soon the Ackroyds would be home and Mrs Ackroyd would have prepared a meal that could be served quickly. Half an hour later Nancy tried again, but again there was no answer to her knock. Something was wrong.

There wasn't much in Nancy's kitchen; she never kept much in and by Fridays there was very little. She shopped and stocked up for her minimal needs at Mrs Rolls' on her way home on Saturdays. About 9.30 Nancy went and knocked again on the Ackroyd's door, but there was still no reply and Nancy became seriously worried. She did not know what to do.

At 10.30 there was a knock on her door and she opened it expecting to find Mr or Mrs Ackroyd. It wasn't. It was Mr Ackroyd's elder brother, Alf Ackroyd. He explained that during the afternoon his brother had been taken ill and had been rushed to hospital. Alf and his wife were taking care of the children. And with that he left her.

Nancy was to fly to Glasgow in the morning, leaving very early in order to play hockey in the afternoon. When she got back she spoke briefly to the partners and then went to Mrs Rolls to stock up. She returned to the farm expecting to find the Ackroyds had returned, but it was still eerily silent. 

She played for the 1st as usual, but they lost this time. Nancy had played well even though she felt half distracted by the Ackroyd's absence, it was so unusual. The meal had no appeal and Lance, her current boyfriend, was playing elsewhere, so once the meal was over she returned home without going to friends. There was still no one about. She slept late as was her custom on Sunday mornings. There was still no one about so Nancy presumed Mrs Ackroyd was staying with her brother in law. About 4 in the afternoon a car pulled into the farmyard, and there was the opening and shutting of doors. After about 10 minutes Mr Ackroyd's brother was at the door again. He looked stricken and blurted out, "My brother died in the early hours of this morning." He gathered himself and went on, "Pat and the children are coming to stay with us for a few days. Will you be all right here?"

There was no reason for Nancy to say she wasn't. At least twice a year the Ackroyds had gone on holiday leaving her alone on the farm, so she said, "Yes, I'll be fine." 

She had said it almost without thinking. It was all very well when the Ackroyds were on holiday, but this was somehow very different. When she had closed her door she began to think of all the things she should have said but hadn't. At the very least she might have said she was sorry, or asked how Mrs Ackroyd was taking it, or just that it was terribly sad. The truth was she could not believe it. It just couldn't be true. Mr Ackroyd, she judged, was a relatively young man; she doubted if he was 50, he couldn't be dead. She made herself cheese on toast, her standard Sunday tea and turned on her wireless for the news, expecting it to be about Mr Ackroyd but he wasn't mentioned. 

On Monday she woke as usual and went off to work, beginning what was the usual kind of week. She flew to Manchester and back to Blackpool and returned. Back at the Ackroyd's she wrote a note of consolation, but as she went down and posted the letter through the letter box, Alf arrived with Charley, who ran up to Nancy and hugged her, crying out, "Daddy's dead, Daddy's dead." 

Nancy felt out of her depth. She gave him a hug and returned to her room glad to escape. She made herself some tea, and as she did so she suddenly realised for the first time this could have a material effect upon her personal life. It could be that that Mrs Ackroyd might sell the farm and then Nancy would have no where to live. She needed to think what she should do. She had been thinking for sometime, since Mrs Ackroyd had mentioned she was burning the candle at both ends, she would like to move away from Mrs Ackroyd's surveillance. 

When she got in to work the next morning Mr Hughes came to see her, and talked of what a tragedy it was. She had forgotten he was a friend of the Ackroyds, and it was he who had originally introduced them to her. He told her that the funeral would be on Thursday afternoon. She told him, "I just cannot take it in, I can't believe it, he was so obviously a fit man." 

Mr Hughes had looked at her for a minute and said much to her surprise, "I think he knew he was on a short lease of life, he had been ill before." 

Nancy dismissed his words as wisdom after the event.

She realized she would be expected to attend the funeral. What should she wear? She flew off to get on with the job in hand and when she returned she searched through her clothes and found a dark skirt and an old white school blouse which no longer really fitted, it was too tight, but it would suffice, just. She arranged to have Thursday afternoon off, and went to the funeral. She did not find it very comforting, and still found it difficult to understand how such a young and apparently vigorous man could die so young. 

When Nancy returned from her hockey match on Saturday evening the Ackroyd's car was parked in the yard. On Sunday Nancy took a short walk in the afternoon, and Mrs Ackroyd must have been looking out for her, for she invited her in for tea. Mrs Ackroyd looked older, her children were not about. She sat Nancy down and told her she needed to talk to her. She talked of Joss, and told Nancy how happy she had been, but then surprised her. Mrs Ackroyd had known for years that Mr Ackroyd had had a weak heart and that he might have a heart attack at any time. They had agreed together that he would ignore the fact and get on and enjoy life. 

She went on, "Now it has happened, I have to tell you I shall not be able to stay on here at the farm. I need to find a smaller house that will cost less to run and is more convenient. It has not been decided what will happen."

Nancy said, "I understand."

Mrs Ackroyd went on, "If Charley had been older and had decided he wished to farm things might have been different, but that isn't the case. In fact Charley might become a musician. That is what he's mad about, but there is still plenty of time for him to change his mind. He might not want to farm, and I do not want to put pressure on him to be a farmer just because his Dad was."

Nancy said, "I can understand that. I had never given a thought about what your children might want to do."

" Well, Lucy has always wanted to be a teacher," said Mrs Ackroyd, smiling for the first time during their conversation, "From a very young age. She too of course has a long way to go, but again I wouldn't stop her doing what she wants. Look, Nancy, this is a hard thing for me to say, but the truth is, if we sold, or we let the incoming owners might not want you as a sitting tenant. Alfie's boys want to farm so we may keep the farm on, but neither of them is old enough to run it. Besides Alf is very keen they should go to Agricultural College before they take any responsibility. So the upshot of all this is that we don't want to keep the house because we really have no use for it, but there are folk who are interested in it either to rent or to buy."

By now Nancy was feeling decidedly uncomfortable again so she blurted out, "You really need not worry. I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn't buy a place of my own." 

At that moment Alf arrived, and Nancy returned to her room. She was now wishing she had not said she would move, it was one thing to be able to take your time and make arrangements but it was quite another to face having to leave. Joss Ackroyd's death had put the cat among the pigeons for Nancy, and now she herself had made it worse. Further she did not have to be told that she spent most of the money she earned and that the rent she paid to the Ackroyds was far below what most girls were paying for their accommodation. Peggy, whose room was not as nice and certainly not as modern or as well appointed as Nancy's, paid considerably more. 

On the next Friday and on Fridays thereafter until she moved out Nancy continued to have her meal with Mrs Ackroyd, but the old atmosphere never returned, whether because of Joss Ackroyd's death or Nancy's remark was never clear. 

Nancy decided that on this occasion two heads might be better than one, and Peggy was the other head. She rang Peggy up and they arranged to meet up at Hexham the following Sunday.

It was sometime since they had met and it struck Nancy immediately that Peggy looked and sounded far more content and more settled than she had ever done before. She was getting as stuffy as Titty had been. Was it only Nancy who was to remain to keep the old excitement flourishing? 

Nancy explained the circumstances of Mr Ackroyds's untimely death. She went on and told Peggy what Mrs Ackroyd had told her about selling or leasing the farm buildings, and how it meant she had lost her home. Peggy's first question was, "How secure is your job?"

Nancy said crossly, "It's safe as houses, of course, what on earth made you ask that?"

Peggy said amicably, "Don't jump down my throat. You're earning very good money, and the sensible thing to do would be to buy a little house, and for that you are likely to need a mortgage. The security of your job will be the first consideration of any building society."

Nancy said, "Surely I don't need a mortgage. I'd just ask the trustees for another advance. Surely they'd give it me if I asked, wouldn't they?"

Peggy was silent for a minute and then said, "Yes, they probably would, I suppose, I hadn't thought of doing that. There are advantages for people like us to have a mortgage because of the tax relief."

Nancy snapped back, "I don't want a mortgage, that would cut my spending money back, and I spend all I get. If I had a mortgage I'd have to cut back, and I'm not doing that, I enjoy life too much."

Peggy asked, "Have you got any savings?"

Nancy said scornfully, "Certainly not." 

Peggy wondered what Nancy spent her money on. She did not know what Nancy earned, but she had a shrewd idea and it was a lot more than herelf. She also knew by chance that in addition Nancy got an allowance from the trust fund, something Peggy had not asked for and felt she did not need.

She decided it was none of her business, so she said, "That's all right then."

Nancy said, "If I have an advance I don't have to worry about the tax or the mortgage or anything else. I don't want to do anything that diminishes my spending money. If I am not paying the Ackroyd's rent, I was banking on having more. I use my money to enjoy life."

Peggy said cautiously, "You'd have to pay the house tax to the council, and for insurance." 

Nancy said, "I hadn't thought of house tax. And why do I need insurance?"

Peggy was stung, and was about to launch into what amounted to a defence but changed her mind and merely said, "Most people take out insurance in case the property catches fire, is flooded or damaged."

Nancy said, "I don't think I'd bother with all that."

They looked in the windows of the estate agents, and Nancy began to think how much a house might actually cost. Peggy suggested that nearer Newcastle property might be more expensive. "If you lived close to where you're living now, I guess that would be regarded as a desirable place to live, and therefore houses are likely to cost more. I thought you told me they were making you a director? Didn't you get a pay rise for that?"

Nancy laughed and said, "Of course I did, a big one, but I need that for spending. They wanted me to pay some of it into a fund to increase my shareholding, but I put them off."

It was a pleasant day and Peggy was for buying a filled roll and eating in the park, but Nancy insisted they went to a restaurant. Nancy had soup and roast beef dinner while Peggy made do with soup and a roll. She wanted no sweet but had a coffee while Nancy tucked into jam roly-poly. Nancy went on to talk of her hockey and the club dinners, and what she described as afters. It struck Peggy that the village hockey club must be a lot grander than Kendal Athletic Club, where there was no bar and dinner was 1/- and prepared by the members. There was only one choice, usually sausages and mash one week and pie and chips the next. 

When they had finished eating, if Peggy was to get home at a reasonable time, it was time for her to catch her train. They agreed that Nancy would try and get details of some houses, and she asked Peggy to bring along stuff about insurance. They agreed to meet in four weeks' time and Nancy suggested Peggy brought a dress and they go to the club dance, for which she would get two tickets. "I'll treat you," she said.

Just before Peggy left she said to Nancy, "You know if you are considering buying a house, I'd contact Mr Lisle as soon as you can."

Nancy said, "I was going to wait until I saw something I fancied."

Peggy said, "Well I wouldn't. Find out how much they're prepared to lend you first."

So four weeks later, Peggy, having been let off Saturday morning, caught an early train to Carlisle, and then on to Newcastle where Nancy picked her up from the station and took her back to the Ackroyd's. Peggy had been prepared to sleep on Nancy's floor, but Mrs Ackroyd was having none of that when she had an unused spare room. Peggy had a big envelope of stuff, but Nancy said firmly they'd look at that on Sunday morning. 

They went shopping instead and called in at a couple of estate agents. They went to the Station Hotel for lunch, and Peggy began to grasp how it was that Nancy spent her money. When Nancy bought a dress for the evening dance she understood even better, it was a good deal more daring and expensive than anything Peggy had ever bought or worn, and she knew that beside Nancy she was going to look positively dowdy. But over lunch she quizzed Nancy about how far she had got with her search for a house. Nancy grumbled that it taken her a long time to persuade Mr Lisle to lend her anything, and longer to come up with a figure he was prepared to advance., When he did, it was less than Nancy had expected. She had hoped to buy a bigger house than the one she could buy with the amount Mr Lisle was prepared to give her. She told Peggy she had one house in mind, but although it was sound as far as she could see it needed redecorating throughout and a new bathroom and kitchen. 

They went back to Nancy's room and Peggy was put up in Mrs Ackroyd's spare room. She got ready for the dance. Peggy was right, she did look dowdy beside her flamboyant sister, and the hockey club pavilion was much grander than the Kendal Athletic Club's shed. But Peggy did not feel so out of place there where plenty of girls were dressed much as she was. There was dancing in progress when they arrived, and it was immediately evident that Nancy not only knew everyone, but was popular. Some of her glory reflected on Peggy and like Nancy she did not lack partners. 

Just before the meal she danced with a quiet young man who was a good dancer. Before they parted he asked her to partner him for the dance after the meal. The meal was excellent, but far more boisterous than those at Kendal, and there was a lot more to drink. Nancy had danced with Lance most of the time, but had other partners, including Bernard. But throughout the evening he only danced with her once. By the end of the evening Peggy had partnered the same chap for five dances, she had learned his name was Rodney and his brother was Bernard, and he worked for an insurance company. He had learned Peggy lived in lodgings in Kendal, did some running and worked in insurance too. Before they had parted they had exchanged addresses. The dance ended at midnight and Nancy drove home. Peggy was not altogether happy, she thought Nancy had had a lot more to drink than she had done. 

Back at the Ackroyd's, Nancy put a saucepan of milk on for a nightcap drink. She began to complain that when Bernard had danced with her he had barely looked at her and only spoken once. "The bloody man is playing so hard to get he's impossible. At this rate I'll never get off with him."

Peggy had watched Nancy trying to get Bernard to dance with her with some amusement, and suddenly said, "Why don't you play harder to get than him? You never know, it might work." 

Nancy said scornfully, "Oh, rubbish, I've always been able to get the men I want and I'm not giving up now. I even bought that dress to stir him up since it's quite revealing."

Peggy said, "Go the other way and buy a high necked one and see if it has a better effect, but if you feel like that make sure it has buttons down the front so he can undo them." 

Nancy complained, "Gosh, I never thought to hear you say a thing like that, you are getting degenerate. Men like to see a flash of something."

Peggy was rather enjoying baiting Nancy and was sober. She said, "Well, since your way did not work or have the effect you wanted, it would cost you nothing to try my way. You never know, it might work."

Nancy grumbled, "If I did that I might lose Lance."

Peggy said, "Well, have it your own way." She had thoroughly enjoyed her evening. Nancy's next remark angered her, but she was too wise to say anything. 

Nancy said, "Bernard's worth chasing, but he's got a younger brother, a little slip of a fellow who's dull as ditchwater, called Rodney. At least, Rodney's supposed to be a good cricketer, but I think they say that because he does what they say. He's an odd bloke. He wanders round the outfield looking at flowers and creepies. The team get cross because he isn't paying attention to the game, but then he goes and gets lots of runs and they forget to be cross. He plays hockey in the winter for the second. He's a wimp."

It didn't seem to Peggy that someone who scored lots of runs and played hockey in the winter was a wimp, but this wasn't the moment to say so. It so happened that Rodney was the man she'd danced with six times that night and with whom she'd exchanged addresses. Again, she noted that Nancy had missed that in her vain pursuit of Bernard, and Peggy decided not to tell Nancy anything. She pleaded she was tired and went off to bed. Nancy told her not to bother to call her until after 10. 

Peggy knew that meant there would not be much time in the morning. In fact she was awake and dressed before 8; Mrs Ackroyd must have heard her moving about. She knocked on her door and asked if she'd like some breakfast, commenting, "Nancy doesn't usually stir until about 11." 

So Peggy had breakfast with Mrs Ackroyd, who asked about Titty and her brother John. Peggy told her Titty had been to Switzerland to college, where she had got a scholarship for the three week stay. She told Mrs Ackroyd that Titty was more a scholar than an athlete. Mrs Ackroyd said, "Well, she must be a brilliant scholar, because she is obviously an excellent athlete." 

Peggy told her Titty was. But that she worked very hard at college, too. Mrs Ackroyd told her she hoped to see her again, and Peggy decided it was time to be blunt. She said, "When she was here last time, Titty and my sister did not get on so well. I think Nancy thought she was too much of a swot."

When Nancy got up and started to get about she had a headache and felt out of sorts. She told Peggy she'd look at the stuff about insurance later, and would give her a ring about it. Peggy thought that was the last she'd hear of that, and it was. Nancy wanted to talk about Bernard, who was a car salesman with a big dealership in Newcastle. Most of the time he drove a Jowett car, fast. "Talk is around the club," Nancy said, "That he is in line for a directorship. He earns a lot and goes out a lot and is a good rugby player. He and his brother don't get on because his brother's such a slow coach. He's even a slow bowler!"

Peggy asked, "Does he get wickets?"

Nancy did not know. 

Peggy looked at her watch and said, "Nancy my train goes in half an hour. Ought we to go?"

Nancy said, "I suppose so." 

She took Peggy to the station, dropping her off in the car park and not coming on to the platform to see her off. The train was in, and Peggy found herself a corner seat and gazed unseeingly out onto the platform. By her standards it had cost her quite a lot to come across to see Nancy. She wondered if it had really been worth it, for she had gone to a good deal of trouble to find the information she thought would be useful to Nancy and her sister had not even glanced at the paperwork. She had even written out a good deal of information reviewing the options open to her, but Nancy had shown virtually no interest in discussing it, and seemingly would go her own way. Nancy seemed impervious to any advice she was given, and there had been a veritable tirade of disgust at the meanness of the trustees at one point. 

Somewhere and somehow Nancy had got beyond Peggy, and she needed to face up to the fact that they now led totally different lives. Peggy wondered about her sister. Nancy was obviously furious at her lack of success with Bernard, which was seemingly terribly important to her. Or was there something else in the equation? In one way Peggy could see her sister's concentration was reasonable, since Nancy had always been headstrong and demanding, but Peggy recognized her sister was now going in a direction in which Peggy had neither the desire nor the money to go. She would have to wait and see what happened. 

By the time she changed trains at Carlisle Peggy had begun to think of herself. She admitted to herself that she had become very settled in her present routine and she enjoyed it, even if her life was modest and dull by Nancy's standards. She wondered if Rodney would contact her. She hoped he would, but she had no intention of chasing after him as Nancy was chasing after his brother. Tomorrow, she decided, she would write to Titty before she settled down to study. Peggy had not heard from Titty since the postcard from Lausanne. 

After the weekend, Peggy was very glad to get back to the safety and familiarity of her room in the Pound's house. To Mrs Pound's question about whether she had enjoyed herself, she gave what she knew was an evasive reply.

Meanwhile in Newcastle, Nancy had returned to the hockey club pavilion for her dinner, and with her friends reviewed last evening's dance. Nancy found they were highly amused at her unsuccessful chase for Bernard's attention and it made her cross. They were either ignoring it, or ribbing her. One told her, "If I were you I wouldn't make such a play for him, I'd back off if I were you." 

It was exactly the advice Peggy had given her and Nancy treated it with the contempt it deserved. If you wanted something, you went for it, she thought. 

It seemed to Nancy that both Peggy and Titty had become very stodgy and unadventurous. They had given up becoming exciting and interesting people anxious to maximum their income and have a good time. Titty was content to merge into a boring risk free academic life where she earned little and did little, but just drifted into an economic rut. To Nancy's dismay she showed no interest in chasing down a man despite the advantages she had of being pretty and attractive, and Nancy thought there must be heaps of attractive young men both at Cambridge and on the Shotley Base. Titty must meet them as she seemed to be doing some climbing, and there must be athletes as well. But Titty was hell bent on neglecting all these opportunities and preferred to bury her nose in a book, instead of making the most of university social life. As for Peggy, Nancy despaired of her sister making the most of her social opportunities, and even when she knew they were going to a dance she couldn't be bothered to buy a decent dress. Peggy was not attractive as Titty, but she was trim and relatively good looking. 

The week after Peggy's visit Nancy had an hour or two to spare at the shed. She used it to flick through the checks she was supposed to make on what Carl did, although in truth she thought Pete was being needlessly pedantic since Carl seemed extra-ordinarily competent. Her check was cursory. Carl wasn't there anyway, having some domestic duty to fulfil. That gave Nancy the opportunity to ring Mr Lisle, for she was annoyed he had set an upper limit on her advance of £200. And to her further annoyance Mr Lisle hedged the sum round with restrictions, such as it wasn't to be used as a deposit, and that Nancy was to produce evidence she had insured the property and her belongings. It was all so silly. She suspected Peggy might have got at the trustees, and whatever, she was not going to insure through Peggy. Nancy phoned Mr Lisle up a second time, and argued with him, but she failed to budge him from his position and he went further, telling her the purchase and conveyencing had to be done by his company. He was adamant he would not advance the money to her, but ownership of the property would reside with the trust fund. 

Nancy was furious. She considered buying whatever property she wanted by having a mortgage. She asked for an increase in her allowance, but Mr Lisle rejected that too. But on reflection she rejected this idea of getting a mortgage, because in order to buy a bigger property, because it would seriously cramp her lifestyle. There was part of her which blamed Peggy, as she thought if Peggy had demanded money from the trust Mr Lisle might show her more sympathy. She thought it most unfair, especially when it must be so obvious that Nancy had every prospect of a glittering career and an ever increasing salary. 

She listened occasionally to the news on the wireless. None of it seemed to make sense to her. Some of the people seemed almost as gloomy as Titty, and set against Hitler. Nancy was still inclined to see him as a man who got things done, and still regretted that Oswald Moseley had now blotted his copybook. None of it much sense to her, and it all seemed remote from the busy and cheerful life she led. She was determined not to holiday with Titty again. Fancy going all the way to Switzerland, just to do school work. When you were as pretty as Titty, not making the most of your opportunities seemed foolish.

Back in Kendal, Peggy was delighted to receive a letter from Rodney. It was quite short, saying only that he had enjoyed the dance and he would like to meet her again sometime, somewhere, wherever it would be convenient. He wrote, very apologetically, that meeting was difficult since he had promised to play hockey for some weeks to come. He included his parent's telephone number. He mentioned neither Bernard, nor Nancy's pursuit of his brother. 

Peggy thought it all very satisfactory. She wrote back, suggesting they meet in Carlisle sometime, and telling him she had promised to be available for the club cross country team but she would very much like to meet him. She included the Pound's telephone number. She heard no more for a while, but the promise was there on both their parts.

Then Rodney wrote again. The next letter said more about himself, some of which she already knew from Nancy, such as the fact he played cricket throughout the summer and he liked walking and cycling and that he read a lot, which Nancy hadn't mentioned. He, too, was doing insurance exams but he was evidently a little further ahead than her. She judged he was a year or two older than her. 

Just before Christmas he rang up one Thursday evening to say that the opposing team had cancelled, and was she available to meet in Carlisle that Saturday?

Peggy was in a whirl, but she decided it was sensible not to get too excited. There was not much time, neither of them had much to eat, but they went to the castle and looked round and then went and had a high tea at a little café Peggy had used before. They parted on Carlisle Station, promising each other they would meet again fairly soon. Rodney changed his mind when he got home and wrote suggesting they fix a date to meet on the second weekend in February, and promised to write again before then. It was all very low key and from Peggy's point of view, satisfactory. On the Sunday she wrote to Titty and felt brave enough to mention Rodney. She even told Captain Flint when she met him the following weekend.

Nancy set about finding a house. Mrs Ackroyd told her she was on the point of selling the farmhouse without the adjoining land, which was to be farmed by her brother-in-law. The purchasers were friends of hers, and the price had been agreed, but they did not wish to move in until late March. 

Nancy decided that if she possibly could she would have bought and installed herself in her new home before that. She had seen a property for sale on the way to the airport, an end of terrace house with a small garden and a garage and yard. She got the particulars and went to see it. Owned by an elderly lady, the outside was in good condition, but Nancy shuddered at the interior, that wouldn't do at all. 

She went to see other properties, most of which were too expensive. She found searching for a house was very time consuming, and she had to forego several Saturday afternoon hockey games while she house hunted. She was getting no where fast, it was taking up a lot of time and she was still angry she hadn't persuaded Mr Lisle to advance more money. At least £250! Nancy tried again, but Mr Lisle refused to grant her request and she got the impression she was getting to the end of his patience. 

She spent even less time reviewing what Carl did. The company was very busy, and they were making really good money. In the run up to Christmas, Mr Hindley had seemed especially busy, and there was one week when he engaged her for the whole week. Then there was a month's break, and then he began to use them again. One evening in a hotel bar she poured out her frustrations to him over her trustees' unwillingness to lend her more money, and the state of the end of terrace house. 

He suggested that she could buy the house, and then borrow the sum to refurbish it, which she need not mention; he even said he knew someone who would lend her the money without it being necessary to tell the trustees. 

That was a new idea to Nancy. She arranged to see the property again, and decided the idea was worth a try. She sent the house details to Mr Lisle with a polite note thanking him for putting up with her. She said that the house appeared to be in good repair on the outside, but would need renovating inside. However, Nancy said, she was prepared to do that over time and implied she could get friends to help her. The letter and its tone had been Mr Hindley's idea. Mr Lisle had rung her up and said he would arrange for a surveyor to look at the property, and he would let her know the outcome. He rang her back about a week later, and told her if she was still interested he would negotiate the purchase. Within twenty four hours he had rung her back again, and said his negotiations had been successful but there was a snag. The old lady was refusing to be pined down about when she would move out.

Nancy was ecstatic, and began to dream about how wonderful it would be to be free to do as she wished. She had until March, and the old lady was sure to be out by then. She contrasted the help Mr Hindley had given her compared to the intransigence of everyone else. He introduced her to a builder and an insurance broker who was prepared to loan her money on the QT, he said. The builder gained access to the house on some pretext, and came up with his suggestions and a price. It was all very satisfactory.

The company was busier than ever, and Nancy was in the air Monday to Saturday doing something. Pete agreed they should pay out a bonus to the directors at Christmas. He hinted that Nancy should use hers to invest in the business, but Nancy had other ideas and spent it mostly on clothes and going out. She was just about hanging on to Lance but she knew he was aware she was still pursuing Bernard. She despised him for not giving her up. 

Into the new year Nancy was still busy, and her little red plane was in and out of Newcastle all the time. Nancy often flew doctors to Cardiff and Plymouth, but most of the work she did was in Northern England and Southern Scotland. It meant that Nancy had fewer nights away from Newcastle and more time to think of the coming move. 

January came and went, and still the old lady refused to say when she would or even if she would leave. Nancy would ring Mr Lisle every Friday to find out what progress he had made, or rather what progress he hadn't made. In fairness to him, he seemed as cross and frustrated as Nancy. Then in the middle of February he told her one Friday there was a possible chance of a breakthrough. But to her annoyance he refused to tell her what it was. But midway through the week there was a note for her to ring him. When she did, he told her a complicated tale about how the old lady's daughter had been trying to get her to sell up for ages. Then the old lady had had a fall and had been found by the daughter, who had gone through her desk and found the sale papers, still in their envelope. 

The daughter had at last got her mother to settle the matter and everything was now progressing at high speed. Nancy, delighted, went to see the broker recommended by Mr Hindley and he suggested it would be more sensible if she moved in first, before the building work. As he put it, "Then wait until things have settled down, and your solicitor and people are less interested, before the building work starts." 

Nancy saw the sense in that, and again contrasted his co-operation compared with the pernickety ways of Mr Lisle and company. Even Peggy seemed less interested in her progress than she might have been, and Nancy was thankful for that. She arranged insurance with a man suggested by Mr Hindley. That way she kept out of Peggy's way, but satisfied a somewhat grudging Mr Lisle. 

Nancy finally moved in during March, and after a week or two contact with Mr Lisle died down. The builder started work at the beginning of May. By this time, Mr Hindley was back and as busy as ever, and she was ferrying him about. It usually took up a day or two of the working week at least. Mrs Ackroyd had given her an old settee and a dinning room table and chairs that had been used by bed and breakfast guests. 

Mrs Ackroyd was in fact quite glad that Nancy hold moved on, for she regarded Nancy's life style as "Increasingly rackety," as she put it to her brother-in-law. 

In the early spring Nancy and two friends with Lance and the girl's boyfriends had a week's holiday in Blackpool. They had a great time turning night into day, doing the rides in the afternoon. The hotel where they stayed seemed quite happy for them to rise late and return in the early hours. The last night, they went to a restaurant and lived it up. 

Nancy considered Blackpool a far cry from and a great improvement on struggling up wet rock on some Lakeland fell. She couldn't think why she hadn't been to Blackpool before. They had a little too much to drink on a couple of nights, and then after the heavy and hearty meal on the last night they all suffered from mild food poisoning. It could have been the cocktail they drank. 

Nancy wrote a hilarious account of her adventures to Titty, suggesting that they have a similar holiday in the summer after Titty's exams. She had an early reply which was short and to the point. It was no. Nancy had half expected that response and was hopeful that Titty would do exactly that. It left her free to do what she wished. If Titty was content to be a stick in the mud that was her look out. 

A couple of weeks later, as a joint finale to the hockey and rugger season, her team went down to London, and played a hockey match with a Greenwich team. They all went into London and danced the night away into the small hours. The trip was counted a great success, and they laid plans for a return visit to open the season in the September. 

Nancy was somewhat hung over on the journey home. 

She had a letter from Peggy suggesting they go for a week's walking in North Wales. The holiday had no appeal to Nancy whatsoever in her present mood, and she told Peggy so in the most robust of language. She never bothered to find out what Peggy did do on her holiday. It would have surprised her, had she done so.

In the early summer the builder finally finished the work to Nancy's satisfaction, and she decided to have a house warming do. She got in plenty of food and it was agreed her friends would supply the drink, so two of the girls brought wine and the lads bought along a barrel of beer. It was quite a noisy do, her guests did not leave until gone two in the morning, and again Nancy had a serious headache and was sick the next day. Her neighbours were not over impressed and they sent round one of the younger men to suggest it would be better if similar parties did not happen too often. It had, Nancy acknowledged to herself, got somewhat out of hand, and she was relatively contrite. But she was careful not to promise it would never happen again. 

Her team had reached the cup final of the local league, a match against their most formidable rivals. The match would be played on their ground because their pavilion was rather superior to the one used by their rivals. The match was played at pace, and Nancy was engaged in all the action. It was a close thing but they won 3-2. Nancy had scored the first goal and had a hand in the winner. The only down side was that she was booked twice, mainly due to her aggression. 

The dinner that followed was a good one, and at the end of it the chairman of the league presented the cup to their captain amid cheers and toasts. The entertainment that followed was splendid and the band excellent. There was plenty to drink and behaviour became somewhat riotous, with Nancy's set in the thick of things and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Nancy danced with several of her old flames and managed a dance with Bernard when he actually looked at her. She was decidedly tipsy when she drove home but seemed to reach her gate safely. She staggered in and drank a large slug of whisky, reached the bathroom before she was sick, tumbled into the bedroom and collapsed on to the bed. 

She woke scared with a hum in her ears and something stroking her cheek. Blearily, she gazed at the cat unbelievingly. It was her neighbour's cat. How the hell did it get in? Nancy staggered downstairs, was sick into the sink, and gazed in horror at her house. The back door was wide open. On the small kitchen table was her handbag, open, and her door keys were beside it. She staggered outside and her car was parked crookedly on the pavement, with the offside front wing perilously close to the house wall. The car keys were on the ground. She bent to pick them up, lurched against the wall, and her head felt like lead. She picked the keys up, straightened up, and got inside the house. Slowly, she shut and locked the door. There and then she vowed she would never drink more than a single glass of wine again. She didn't either, except once.

She put the kettle on the stove, took her mug, and put a large teaspoonful of coffee in it. She poured the water in and put it to her lips and gagged. She had spooned gravy browning into the mug. It sobered her in a way nothing else had. She emptied the mug into waste bin, washed out the mug, and spooned coffee powder in. She decided she would have some toast. The loaf was stale and hard, but she toasted it anyway. There was nothing to put on it but margarine. It was a seminal moment for Nancy, and a prelude to a disastrous eight months or so of her life. 

The phone rang. It was Peggy, but Nancy was in no state to speak rationally when she heard Peggy say, "Are you alright?"

Nancy said, "No. I got drunk last night and then drove home. Can I ring you this evening?"

Peggy said, "Yes of course, bye."

"Bye," said Nancy.

She had a bath and put on fresh clothes, and piled last night's clothes in the wash. She went down stairs, took a piece of paper and wrote out one hundred times: 'I will never have more than one glass of wine in any evening' and pinned it to the kitchen door. She looked in her food cupboard to find that all it contained was half a jar of fish paste, some margarine, some stale bread, and a can of baked beans. The milk was sour. 

It was time to review her life style.

Starting in the bathroom she began to go through the house. It got no better. She had virtually no first aid, but four bottles of aspirin. Over her dinner of toast and beans she made a list of food she needed, and pinned it to the list of lines. By the time she rang Peggy she had taken five buckets of rubbish to the dustbin. By the following weekend, she had been through the house, and had enough rubbish to fill the dustbin twice over. She vowed she would never get the house in that state again. 

Early in the spring she and two friends decided they had enjoyed their London trip so much they would organise another trip. Nancy in particular was entranced with London. The original idea was that they would get up a party together from the sports clubs, but that did not win general approval so they went by themselves. They booked up to go to a couple of shows. In the event they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and for Nancy at least the novelty, the noise and the bright lights were a wonderful tonic and so different from her former holidays. The girls all danced with several men at the dance club they went to, and met them again the following night. It was very late or alternatively early when they got back to the hotel, and they had a job to wake the staff to let them in. Nancy was poorly again on the train journey home. even though she had kept her promise to herself of only one glass of alcohol per night. She was still tired on Monday morning, and was late getting away, making a poor take off and an atrocious landing when she landed at Glasgow. Fortunately she had no passenger and no one at Newcastle was any the wiser. Nevertheless Nancy determined it would never ever happen again, and it didn't.

She had kept her promise to herself not to drink more than a single glass of wine, but she had eaten a lot. Despite having felt poorly on the way home she decided that visiting London and dancing in London clubs was great, and that kind of life was the one she enjoyed. There would be no more holidays walking and climbing in the Lake District or anywhere else. She had found herself a more exciting and enjoyable way of spending her leisure. She would persuade her friends to repeat the visit as soon as possible. When the tennis club arranged for a visit to the South of England for a series of games with other clubs, she was among the first to sign up to go. She went and had a great time but she was very thankful she hadn't committed herself to paying off a mortgage. She had had to arrange an overdraft with the bank in order to maintain her payments to Mr Hindley's broker. 

Early in the summer Peggy had gone with Rodney to North Wales. They had stayed at a Holiday Fellowship guest house, where there were led walks everyday, and they both found they could keep up even when they went on what were classified 'A' walks. On the last Saturday they met up with Titty in Wales for the post examination Climbing Club meet, Titty's last meet of the academic year. The walk on Saturday with Titty and her two friends Annette and Joyce was far more demanding than anything Peggy and Rodney had done the previous week. 

Peggy had talked to Rodney about her little friend, and Rodney was pleased to have met her. They went back with Titty to the climbing hut, joined the members for their meal, and stayed over night in the somewhat rough and ready accommodation. Rodney had expected the occasion to be more uproarious, and not as physically and intellectually taxing as it was. He was shattered at the end of the day's walking, and when one of the girls casually mentioned that Titty was not as fit as usual after the exams he wondered what she was like when she was fit. When he'd said that to Annette, she had chuckled and said "Don't imagine because she is so small she isn't tough. She hauled my boyfriend off a big face last year." 

Peggy and Rodney had both enjoyed the week when they had got to know each other better, but Rodney had returned a little in awe of Titty. They left in the morning to catch the early train from Holyhead home. Their journey involved a change at Crewe, from where Peggy caught a train to Oxenholme and Rodney to Newcastle. They found a corner to kiss passionately before they parted. 

When Rodney arrived home he was obviously glowing with health, and his parents wanted to know all about his holiday. They had been a little unsure about their younger son holidaying with his girlfriend, but it all seemed remarkably innocent. They decided it was time to take their younger son's friendship with Peggy seriously.


	16. Titty's Last Year

Titty went back up to Cambridge with misgivings about her mother's health. She was jaded and tired, looked it and knew it. She started the term doubting whether she would do half as well as people seemed to assume. But her tutors were ecstatic. The essays she submitted were marked up and praised, Mrs Prentice and Mr Roberts began to pile on their demands, and Titty found herself working as hard as she ever had in her life. Her success in pleasing her tutors motivated her to work even harder. Her doubts about if the work she was producing were really as good as they said it was made her work harder than ever. She was not as good during cross country training, but she thought she would do better when it came to races.   
  
She was still attending Mrs Prentice's fortnightly Japanese class. Things had changed, as Basil had gone to the United States on a two year assignment. She found Chris was in despair over his hand which was still bandaged. His climbing days were over, and the career in the army he had promised himself was in doubt. He had settled instead upon a further spell of post graduate studies. He was still pursuing Annette and they were now engaged. There was a new recruit, a man older than Titty who was rather lordly and superior. He was rather contemptuous of what she and Chris had done.   
  
Chris arrived at the first Japanese class of term before Titty, and she opened the door to find Mrs Pritchard looking at Chris. He had come from straight from the hospital, was swathed in a professional looking bandage, and was clearly in pain. "And what have you been doing to yourself, may I ask?" Mrs Pritchard was asking.  
  
Chris said, "I hurt my hand while I was climbing...."  
  
Mrs Pritchard chided him, "If you must play these dangerous sports, what do you expect?"  
  
But Chris went on "....then the hospital didn't do a good job, and they called me back. They broke my fingers again to reset the bones. They've just been checking today. If it wasn't for that little wisp of a girl who'll be with us shortly, things might have been very much worse. She bandaged me up there and then on the climb, and proceeded to demonstrate just how good a climber she really is and virtually hauled me to safety. We met a doctor on the way down, and he redid the splints in the kitchen of the Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe. I suspect I should berate her for being called back to hospital, but that's a long story."  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "I'll hear it sometime."   
  
Embarrassed, Titty had retreated, but hearing them stop talking she went back to the door. As she rang the bell, she heard Chris say, "Quick, word is Titty doesn't look well."  
  
Before Mrs Pritchard had a chance to speak Titty went in, feeling she looked as Chris had said, listless and tired. The lesson over, Titty said she needed to see Mr Roberts and left.   
  
She was no sooner away than Mrs Pritchard said, "Come on, Chris. I want to know more about this incident. The poor girl looks awful. When you've told me your news I'll get you up to date."   
  
So Chris found himself telling Mrs Pritchard, who had never previously shown any interest in climbing, a full account of the incident on Buchaille Etive Mor. Then Mrs Pritchard wanted to know why he blamed Titty for the hospital recalling him. Chris looked at her a bit sideways, and said, "After I was home Titty was the only person apart from family who took any interest in my hand. It must have been after she came back from Switzerland when I got a call from the hospital to go along. They inspected my hand and agreed to reset it. While they were doing so, the Doc mentioned, "You have friends in the right places." I must have looked at him oddly, and he apologised. But I have decided Titty must have had a hand in the affair somewhere along the line."  
  
Mrs Pritchard went on, "Well, do you know why she looks poorly?"  
  
Chris said, "The grapevine has it she came home from Switzerland to find her mother seriously ill, so she has had no proper sleep since, and is still worried. I heard from another source entirely she has been working for the navy as well you people, and that they're piling on the work. That's enough, isn't it?"   
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "Yes, that explains that then. Sometimes I think we all demand too much of her. Had you heard that she did spectacularly well in Lausanne? I've been told she won the prize for the best essay submitted by any student?"  
  
Chris said, "No, I've heard nothing about that, not that it surprises me. I know she's good, but that doesn't stop her working damned hard. My guess is she worked like the blazes on that essay, and others as well."  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "If she won what I was told she'd won, she must have worked very hard indeed. It was a spectacular success. Another thing I heard was that in Switzerland on the Saturdays she took long hikes with one of the senior students - male. If you see her about just make sure she's ok, and let me know if she isn't."   
  
There were a new batch of young athletes who joined in the cross country training runs, and at least two of them were very good. In contrast Titty's running was decidedly off the pace. In the first inter college race she gained her place in the team more because she was the natural choice than because she was on form. The best she could only manage a poor fifth. The first inter university race saw her chosen against her wishes as a member of the team, and although the first race was over a flat fast course in good weather she ran in an exhausted twenty-first place. A new girl, Marion, came third and was dismissive, almost scornful of Titty's performance, saying, "I thought Titty Walker had a reputation for being good."  
  
Titty was most unhappy. She still felt tired and lacklustre, and she had done far worse than she had expected.  
  
But then there was a silver lining. Daddy was home, and at the weekend Titty went home on Friday, missing the first climbing club weekend. Her mother was evidently very much better, although she was not quite back to her usual confident self. Her illness had shaken her self belief.   
  
Titty could only be home the first weekend of her father's visit, but father and daughter took a walk along the river shore one morning and her father asked her how she got on in Lucerne, and about how she had won the major prize. He said, "Oh, well done."   
  
Titty went on to tell him how she had been quizzed by the German girls about working for the Navy, and how she had to fob them off. She told him about the two long walks with Robert, and her father did not evince a great deal of interest, except in how she met him in the first place. Then he asked, "What did happen in Scotland?"  
  
She said, "Chris, the man I was climbing with, hurt his hand and I had to help him."  
  
Commander Walker looked at her quizzically for a minute and said softly, "I think you had better tell me a bit more. My fellow officers, and seniors, are telling me tales about my daughter's heroism in getting a big man out of a tight situation. It is rather embarrassing when I know nothing whatsoever about the whole event. It's rather uncomfortable to be told things about your own daughter when you have to admit she has told you nothing about it."  
  
"I'm sorry, Daddy, it did not seem important," said Titty. "I just did what I felt there was to do." So she had to tell him the story of how she got Chris off the climb in the first place, and of how she had driven Chis's Jaguar home.   
  
Commander Walker asked for Titty's details of his wife's illness, questioned her in detail, and gained a different impression of how serious it had been than he had from his wife. Then he caught Titty by surprise and off balance by asking about how much she learned at the translation sessions for the navy. All she would admit to was 'a lot'.   
  
Then came an apparently innocent question, "Do you do any other translation for the navy?"   
  
Titty had to tell her father about the big brown envelopes that she received.   
  
He merely nodded and said, "I hope they did not work you too hard."   
  
It was a;ways difficult to know how much Daddy knew beforehand or understood. Titty guessed it was a lot more than he ever gave away.   
  
Commander Walker went on, "Do they pay you?"  
  
Titty had to say she had had no money since June. He said, "Have you told Bob you were quizzed in Lucerne?"  
  
"No, Daddy," Titty said.  
  
"I have to see Bob before I leave. Would you like me to tell him?"  
  
Her response was, "Yes, please, Daddy. I hadn't realised the Navy would want to know."   
  
Her comment told Commander Walker a lot more about her relations with his service than she supposed.  
  
Titty talked about coming fifth and then twenty first in the cross-country races, and how dispiriting it was, and how tired she was and how worried about her exams. It just poured out of her, and she hadn't meant it to, just as her father was about to return to Singapore.   
  
He said, "Shall I arrange for the doctor to give you a check up?"  
  
Titty half heartedly agreed, but they were hardly home when she found herself walking to the Navy doctor as an emergency patient. She was given a thorough check up, and then she received a talking to such as she hadn't had for a long time. She was not allowed to leave until she had promised to give up competitive running until the Lent term. The doctor told her that if he could, he would have spoken to her tutors.   
  
Commander Walker also spoke again to Bob, asking if the work she was being given could be sent elsewhere. Bob was not optimistic.   
   
Titty returned to Cambridge to work. She had not mentioned Robert to her friends at the University, and hoped no one would mention anything about it until she felt it was time to mention him. Daddy knew so many people, someone might tell on her.   
  
In Shotley, it was time for Commander Walker to return to his post in the east. Before he left he had a debriefing at the Admiralty and another with the Base Commander, an old friend. They talked at length about Commander Walker's duties in the China Seas, and commiserated with one another about the failure of their superiors to prepare for the coming war. Finally Commander Walker said, "Another matter, Bob."  
  
"Yes, Ted," Bob said.  
  
Commander Walker began, "I'm sorry to ask this again. But, the use you chaps are making of my daughter's translation skills."  
  
Bob grinned ruefully at his old friend and said, "I wondered how soon it would be before I had to account for my sins."  
  
Commander Walker asked, "How much of the stuff she has to translate is hush hush?"  
  
The Base Commander acknowledged, "The truth is, Ted, quite a lot. She's so damn good, and she's got these foreign chaps absolutely charmed simply because she is her unaffected self."  
  
"That's all very well, but has anyone told her not to tell?"  
  
The Base Commander said, "No one, I guess."  
  
Commander Walker went on, "Has she told you that when she was in Lucerne she was quizzed by a couple of German girls?"   
  
The Base Commander said anxiously, "No. Ted, what happened? Do you know?"   
  
Commander Walker gave him Titty's account of what had happened and went on, "Were you aware that the Admiralty is using her services on a regular basis, and most months she has a couple of brown envelopes of stuff from the Admiralty to translate? Somehow our enemies must have got wind of this, and she was given a hard time by these German girls, though she played dumb and saw them off."  
  
Bob said, "I knew nothing about the other stuff, and thank God she gave nothing away. What had I better do as far as we know?"  
  
Commander Walker said, "Say we've had this conversation and tell them the tale. I'd be grateful if you'd do something else, Bob. Her finals are this year and she's hell bent on getting a first. So I'd be grateful if she could be spared from at least February onwards, and preferably from Christmas. A combination of having worked all hours in Lausanne. Molly's illness and work she's done for you chaps has meant she's worn herself out."  
  
The Base Commander said, "Leave it with me, Ted, and I'll do my best and keep you posted. I'll speak to his nibs and see what he says, and about the other issue, too."   
  
Commander Walker went on conversationally, "By the way. Bob, she hasn't been paid since June and when she is it's a miserly 2/- a day, plus a similar amount for each translation in spite of the fact it is usually several pages of typescript. And that's when she gets paid."  
  
The next day, somewhat uncharacteristically uncertain of himself, Bob rang the Admiral to talk about Commander Walker's debriefing. The Admiral put him off and said he wanted time to discuss it later, "I mean I'll ring you after five this afternoon."  
  
It was a quarter to six before the Base Commander's secretary put the Admiral through. His first question was, "How's Molly?"  
  
To which the Commander was able to say, "Very much better, Sir." They discussed Commander Walker's debriefing for best part of an hour, until finally the Admiral said, "That's that then, Bob."  
  
The Base Commander said, "Not quite, Sir."  
  
The Admiral said, "What then?"  
  
The Base Commander said, "We've discussed Ted, and Molly, but then there is Titty. Ted is concerned."   
  
He detected the Admiral relaxing as he said, "Yes, what about young Titty?"  
  
The Base Commander said, "Were you aware that she went to Lucerne Language School?"  
  
"Yes, Bob. What of it? I'm told she was quite a star."  
  
The BC said, "I gather from Ted while she was there she was quizzed by a pair of German girls about what she did, and what and who she knew? Of course during her translating sessions she's being sent documents from Whitehall, and she knows a good deal. I gather she acted dumb and they were told nothing, so they transferred their attentions to a couple of our French colleagues. Oh and by the way, she hadn't told her parents about that prestigious prize in Lucerne, but I heard that from another source."  
  
The Admiral said, "So far as I know that information about her being quizzed in Lucerne hasn't reached us, here. What does Ted want us to do about it? "  
  
"Nothing, he just thought we ought to know." said the Base Commander.  
  
"So, did he say anything more?" asked the Admiral.  
  
"Yes Sir, three things. One is that young Titty is in her final year, and Ted has asked she should be given no work in the lead up to the exams, anytime after the last week in February and preferably Christmas. Then, when Ted was here the doc gave her the once over and was concerned at how tired she was. Thirdly I gather young Titty has not been paid since June, and then only 2/- a day or for each piece of work she's done."  
  
There was a minor explosion at the other end of the phone. "But I arranged she should be paid, those bloody idiots, I'll see them tomorrow. As for Ted's request I'll see to it, it's honoured to the letter. We're going to need that young lass's skills like there's no tomorrow all too soon. I'm not having her career blighted because we're greedy. I was hoping to see those Italian friends of yours. Now I shall certainly come, and I'll have a word with the young lady myself."  
  
"Yes, Sir." The phone went dead.   
  
A week later Titty received a note from the Admiralty apologising, and enclosing a cheque for quite a lot. She was left wondering how that had come about.   
  
When the Italians came, Titty was home for a day or two. The Admiral was there on the second day, and when their visitors had gone he had a long conversation with Titty in the privacy of the Base Commander's Office. Whatever was said, she returned to Cambridge happier, especially as her father and mother now knew a lot more about what she did for the navy.   
  
When she got back to college, in her pigeon hole was a letter from Robert MacCulloch. It was quite short ,and said he would be visiting Cambridge in three weeks' time. Could he meet her and take her for a meal?  
  
On the train home there had been a man with a heavy cold, and by Friday Titty knew she was going to have a rotten cold. She did. For a week she barely left her room. On the worst day Annette, who had somehow got wind of Titty's cold, arrived with bottles of fresh orange juice and fruit, it was a turning point. At the weekend Annette was back with more drink and fruit. Titty asked why Annette was taking such trouble. She was told roundly, if it hadn't been for you, Chris might have had an awful time getting out of his fix. Titty had spent much of the week asleep, and the day after Annette's second visit she woke feeling better. She wrote to Robert telling him she had had a cold, but that she was looking forward to seeing him. She rang the university cross country captain, saying she wouldn't be available until the Lent term. On the Saturday she met the college cross country team secretary, told the team she needed a break and stubbornly, even crossly, refused to relent when two of the women members tried to persuade her otherwise. She promised she would continued to train with them regularly, and she did.   
  
She got back to her studies, catching up and producing some of the best work she had done in her life, but no sooner had she completed one bit of work than she was given more, it was remorseless. Brown envelopes from the ministry arrived as well on a regular basis.  
  
Then came a letter from Robert suggesting she met him at a small hotel in the centre of Oxford, about 6.30 pm. She began to look forward to it more than she cared to admit. At least he was unlikely to demand more work of her.  
  
Just before the appointed time she slipped shyly into the hotel. Robert did not seem to be there, and Titty began to worry if she had got the right place or the wrong time She had to resort to going to the loo to re-read his letter. She went upstairs and to the dining room, he wasn't there, then suddenly he was striding towards her, and she had the same sense of being safe as she had in Lucerne.   
  
It struck Robert how small and vulnerable Titty looked. The meal was ordered while she told him about her mother's illness. She said how tired she had been when she came up to college, and how her running had suffered. He got her to tell him more about how tired she was, and watching her he recognised the symptoms. He acknowledged to himself found Titty fascinating. It was the mix of shyness, intelligence and bravery.   
  
Not for the first time, he wondered how she had got Chris up and off the climb. Robert asked how Chris was getting on, and then as to whether Titty had told the navy she had been quizzed in Lucerne. She told him she had told her father, who had said he would tell the navy, and went on to say that when she hadn't been paid recently she had wondered if they had thought she had given something away. Then they had paid a lot all at once. She went on tell him her father had heard about Scotland, saying, "I hoped they weren't going to make any more fuss."   
  
Robert had looked at her and laughed. He said, "You know you caused a stir in Scotland?"  
  
"No," Titty said, "Why should I?"  
  
Robert said, "You remember the chap I turfed out of the Kingshouse?"  
  
"Yes," Titty said uncertainly.  
  
Robert said, "Well, he found the two lads you helped, and got the tale from them. He did his research and dug up more information, some friend of yours talked. His article in The Scotsman about the rescue told me things I did not know."   
  
"But why the fuss?" Titty asked.  
  
Robert looked at her in silence for a full minute, and then said affectionately, "Lass, you need to understand that not every girl who looks about fourteen hauls blokes the size of Chris off climbs on Scottish bens like Buchaille Etive Mor. Nor do they coolly produce bandages and bind them up. And for good measure, help two other chaps off the same climb. Then this girl goes back and cooks dinner and in the morning coolly drives the chap's Jaguar back to Cambridge." He lifted an eyebrow and went on, "Rather fast, I believe."   
  
Titty chuckled, "I enjoyed it, it's the fastest car I've driven, a lot faster than our old Austin even after Roger's tuned it up."   
  
Robert shook his head in mock despair and said, "You see what I mean."  
  
She asked, "But did anyone know all that?"  
  
Robert said, "That journalist quizzed the two lads you helped, and told the story of all that happened. How he found out about the rest I've no idea. He's a good journalist, and writes a good story. You thank your lucky stars he did not find out about Lucerne."   
  
Shortly after that Robert walked Titty back to Girton, and under the eye of the porter watched her walk across the courtyard. She turned twice to give him a gay little wave.   
  
He turned away after she had gone out of sight. Tonight he would be assisting a surgeon piece together the shattered limbs of a young motor cyclist who had crashed into a unwary motorist, turning out of a side turning. In the event he had to take over the operation. By the following morning, he was weary and hollow eyed and tired: he returned to the hotel and collapsed into bed.   
  
That Saturday Titty had the best training run with her friends since she had returned to Cambridge in the early autumn. But she still felt justified in insisting she was doing no racing until next term. She needed time off.  
  
There was one more climbing meet before the Christmas. It was in the Lake District, camping in the Coniston Fells. Titty arranged with Ralph that they should climb on Dow Crag, and then he caught her by surprise. "I really enjoyed that walk on the Snowdon Horseshoe," he said. "Why don't we team up with Chris and Annette, and do a walk on the Coniston Fells? I believe you know them well."   
  
So they did just that, but on the Sunday the weather was not so good and much of the walk had to be done compass in hand. Several others joined them, and they had an damp but exhilarating walk beginning and ending on the Old Man.  
  
Just before the term ended the language lecturers reviewed their students. Miss MacDougall reached for the next file. "Titty Walker," she said.  
  
Mrs Pritchard finished the assessment for her, "Is doing absolutely brilliantly. We've worked her hard, and so far this term the harder I work her the better it gets. She just goes on getting gets better and better."  
  
Mr Roberts said, "She really is an outstanding student. She may not be the best student of the year, but she is by far the most industrious, and she seems able to produce quality work no matter how hard we push her. What do you say, Dougall?"  
  
"What I say is this we're pushing the girl too hard. She came up this year tired because of Lucerne, and that after returning home to find her mother seriously ill. She's curtailed her running too, not that I know much about that. But I understand she hasn't run well this term. At my last tutorial she handed in another near flawless piece of work and then was so tired she could barely discuss it. I gave her no more work, told her I'd see her after Christmas, and I suggest you two do much the same."  
  
"You've what?" exclaimed Mr Roberts, "But you're the harshest taskmaster there is!"  
  
Miss MacDougall said, "Maybe, but I'm easing up on her, and I mean it when I say I think you two should too."  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "I don't like it. Yes, she's a brave little soul, but she is producing some of the best work she has ever done. Why shouldn't we push to ensure her work is ever better? She excelled in Lucerne and we want her to excel here too."  
  
Miss MacDougall said tersely, "You may not like it, but take a hard look at the girl, she's fading away. I agree with you that the work she is doing currently is outstanding, but we want it to remain that way. Besides, Titty does not need to be pushed, she drives herself hard without us doing any pushing. I've told her plainly to ease up. If we go on as we are she'll arrive at the exams brain dead and without the energy to put pen to paper. Don't forget that we are not her only taskmasters. The lodge tell me most weeks there is an envelope with the Admiralty's crest all over it. That reminds me," said Miss MacDougall with asperity, "It would be better if those fools sent the stuff in brown envelopes. But, we should recognise that if we go on as we are, Titty will fade away."  
  
Mr Roberts said, "There isn't much of her to fade." He got two withering looks for that remark.  
  
Mrs Pritchard said decisively, "No, I don't like it. But I think you are right. Now I think it's time to tell the young lady we want her back next year, and not just to do post-grad studies but tutoring as well. Are we agreed?"  
  
Her colleagues said yes to that.  
  
"I'll see her before she goes down, and I shall ease up on her," said Mrs Pritchard.   
   
Titty went to a couple of Christmas parties, but somehow that year she seemed in no mood for great celebration, so she left both fairly early. Word reached her that the one event grew rowdier later. After the second, Mrs Prentice told her she wanted to see Titty the day before she left for home. The girls on her floor had several small celebrations which went on into the early hours. Those girls were all third year students, and had at the back of their minds the thought that they wouldn't be together next year. It would be their last Christmas together.  
  
So Titty presented herself to Mrs Prentice at 10 the day before she went home, as instructed. She was half expecting to be handed a batch of essays to be done over Christmas. Had her last piece of work not been up to scratch, she wondered?   
  
Very briefly Mrs Prentice reviewed her last two essays, and the work she had done for the other tutors. She mentioned a few items where improvements might be made. Titty was prepared to leave when Mrs Prentice said, "Not so fast, Miss Walker. I've more to say, much more."  
  
What was coming, what else had she not done?   
  
But Mrs Prentice was not to be hurried. She asked, "Tell me, Miss Walker, I'm told that you've scratched from all races this term and at the beginning of term. You did not run well, why?"  
  
Mrs Pritchard had never shown any interest in Titty's athletics. She was going to pass the comment off, but her tutor's eyes were on her, and Titty changed her mind. She admitted, "I came up very tired because my mother had been ill, and I don't think I really got over it. I finished well down the field in the first two races and I hadn't the energy to get back, so I told the team I wouldn't race until next term."  
  
"Now, Miss Walker," said Mrs Pritchard, "I have made a few mild criticisms and I saw your face fall. Those really were trifling comments and we, your tutors, are agreed the work you've presented this term is by far the best you have done. We think that we have been driving you too hard and we will be easing up next term. We need you to arrive at the exams in the best form possible and fit to cope with them. And I would like you to be in a position to run successfully again. I know that you work to a programme you write up yourself and you left it on the desk after last week's lecture. I want you to promise me that you will go back now and rewrite it to give yourself a few breaks. We each gave you two essays to do during the vacation, but we are reducing that to one and you need not submit until the end of January. You can chose whichever of the two you like, and submit the other before the end of term. I happen to know when you get home there will be an essay to do for Lucerne to be submitted by the end of January, I have negotiated that to be put back to the 31st of March. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs Pritchard." Titty was feeling somewhat mystified, for how had all this come about she could not imagine. She began to gather up her bag. But Mrs Pritchard had not finished.  
  
"Now. What are you thinking of doing when you've completed your degree, what do you expect to do?"  
  
Titty looked up at Mrs Pritchard and said, "I expect I'll try and get a job as a translator for the Admiralty."  
  
Mrs Pritchard said, "You don't sound very enthusiastic about it?"  
  
Titty felt a spurt of anger and she said tautly, "I don't like the idea of sitting in an office in London just doing endless translation, much the same as I've been doing for ages. Living in London and being at the beck and call of some bureaucrat."  
  
"So if I said that, providing you do reasonably well in the finals, we would like you like to come back here to do some post- grad studies and some tutoring, how would that sound?"  
  
Titty's spirits rose and she said with a wide smile, "That would be heaven. Do you think I will do reasonably well?"  
  
Mrs Prichard said, "Yes, I do. I think you'll do better than that if you take notice of what I say and don't work as hard as you have been doing. Work hard by all means, but give yourself some breaks as well."   
  
Now it really was time to go. But Mrs Prentice had still not finished with Titty Walker for that day. She watched from her window as Titty walked across the courtyard, head down and rather slowly. She rang Mrs MacDougall, and told her she had seen Titty. Then she made a call to a London number and had a long conversation. When she rang off, she was reasonably confident she would not be the only person easing up on Titty Walker. Envelopes once a week from the Admiralty were far too much. And unless she was much mistaken, in future they would be in plain envelopes with no crest on them.  
  
Titty was thankful to be going home. It had not been a happy term for her. Mrs Walker only needed a single glance at her daughter to know she needed a rest, good food and fresh air. But in the morning a large brown envelope fell on the doormat, and Bob was on the phone asking could she spare some time that afternoon and the following morning to translate for two Italians visiting the base. And while Mrs Walker herself had shaken off most of the remnants of her illness and was nearly back to her old self, she tired easily, and the illness had dented her self confidence.   
  
The marines had a new instructor who came round and invited Titty to join him and the marines as often as she wished. He was a morning man, and took his squadron out at 7.30 am for just over an hour. So the day after Titty returned from college she was out running with the marines. The instructor was a very fit man, and the stakes were upped somewhat. Titty seemed to have suddenly improved and relished the more demanding regime. Despite being tired she felt more cheerful. She spent the rest of the time either revising, writing or helping her mother and running. There was another half day's translation with the Italians, and she was presented with an Italian climbing jacket.   
  
One morning she and her mother walked along the shoreline, and Mrs Walker plucked up courage to ask her daughter what she expected to do after securing her degree. Titty looked at her mother and after a minute or two she said, "I don't know."  
  
Mrs Walker nearly laughed, it was so characteristic of Titty, but it wouldn't do. She contrasted it to what her younger son had told her at half term. Roger had said decisively, "Mummy, I want to spent a year as a stoker, and then join the merchant marine on an engineering officer programme. I've written to four companies and I've to see two of them before Christmas. And I don't expect to go back to school."  
  
To Titty, she said gently, "Have you any idea what you want to do?"  
  
"I expect the navy might give a job as a translator," Titty said.  
  
Her mother probed, "Is that what you'd like to do?"  
  
Then it came with a rush, "No it's not. If I get a good first I'd like to stay on at college and do some tutoring. The day before yesterday Mrs Pritchard said if I did reasonably well they will have me back!"  
  
Mrs Walker was surprised, "They have told you that already?"  
  
"Yes," said Titty, "Mrs Pritchard had me in just prior to coming home, and had a long talk with me. And I'm already helping a lady who has written a textbook on mathematics to be translated into French, and if I did continue to get regular work for the navy that would help to pay my expenses as I go along. If I get a first, Lucerne have already said they'd like to me to do some tutoring as well as advanced studies."   
  
They went on to talk about Titty's hopes, and her mother thought in all likelihood despite her doubts Titty would do as she planned.   
  
Before they got home Titty told her mother about how she had met a doctor when Chris had hurt his hand, and had met him again when she was in Lucerne. She went on to say, "He came to Addenbrooks during the term and took me out to dinner." She said no more about it, but Titty had never mentioned being taken out by anyone else.  
  
"So have you anything more you want to tell me?" Mrs Walker asked her.  
  
"Yes, Mummy, if you promise to tell no one else. Not even John," Titty said.  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Sometime I'd like to write full time," Titty said, "But only when I can be quite sure it is really good."  
  
Mrs Walker nodded and said, "I have often wondered if you'd end up writing. What would you like to write, novels?"  
  
Titty said, "Yes, and travel books, I'd love to travel. But the first job is to get a first - a good first."  
   
No more was said, and Mrs Walker waited until Ted Walker was back in England before telling him their daughter's secrets.  
  
When Titty went for a run next day Mrs Walker rang the Base Commander, When she was put through she asked, "Bob, it's Molly. When Ted saw you, did he say anything about giving Titty a break in the run up to her finals?"  
  
Bob said, "Yes, Molly, he did. I spoke to his Lordship and I gather he got a promise that nothing would be sent to her after the end of December. By the way, the ministry are now paying her decent money for the work she's been doing."  
  
Mrs Walker said, "Yes, Bob. I knew that Titty insisted on making a bigger contribution to the food this Christmas on the strength of her cheques. But I noticed she was no sooner back here than there was another envelope from the Admiralty. It had the crests all over it, too."  
  
Bob said, said, "Molly, it so happens my spies told me that since I mentioned it, steam was rising from the ministry roof by the time his Lordship had finished with the bureaucrats."  
  
Mrs Walker said, "Bob, I think you should know in view of what happened last time, that Titty has already been asked to attend Lucerne next year."  
  
Bob said, "Thanks, I'll mention it. By the way his nibs will be here next week when the French come, and he's told me he wants to see Titty again but wanted nothing said to her. I gather it will all be very informal. The old boy's got a soft spot for her, you know."  
  
Mrs Walker chuckled.  
  
So when the Italians had left and Titty's duties had ended she was asked to stay behind. Using the Base Commander's office again, the crusty old Admiral showed a side of his character very few of his colleagues ever saw. He talked with Commander Walker's daughter for the best part of an hour, but only Molly Walker ever found out most of what was said. It was evident that her daughter's career was secure, however her results turned out. If Titty was not asked to continue at university she was promised a job as a naval translator, wherever she was needed in the world. Were she to stay on at university as Mrs Walker fully expected, the brown envelopes of documents for translation would start to reappear, and in the holidays she would probably continue to be needed at Shotley. "But if you get one envelope after the 31st of March you are to ring my secretary and return it to whoever sent it," the Admiral had told Titty, "It's an order."  
  
By now Titty was almost back to her old form, and the new instructor told Bob one day that he thought his team of marines would win every naval cross country race there was, due to chasing after a diminutive girl who seemed just to dance across the ground. "If I were you," he said, "I'd watch the papers. I reckon our star will figure on the sports pages next university term."   
  
The Walker's Christmas was a muted affair with the two older members of the family absent, Susan stuck at home and John at sea, and Bridget in France with the music school. Titty had a Christmas Card from Robert which pleased her no end. It was very plain, and on it was the crest of the McCulloch family. The Walkers did not have large sums of money to spend on Christmas presents. Roger was given tools, while Titty was given books. Roger had made his mother a beautiful needlework box from wood retrieved from the waste bins outside the carpenters' shop on the site. Titty, who had been in on the secret, gave her mother scissors, needles, thimbles and cottons.  
  
But Roger had another surprise for Titty up his sleeve. There was no parcel from him under the tree. There was however an envelope with a card, inside which were directions as to where she would find her present. As soon as they had had breakfast they all set out. They'd not gone far before Titty knew where the directions were leading - Roger's shed. Inside was something draped in a grubby sheet with a bow on top. Under the sheet was a beautifully made desk. It was superb. Roger had lightly stained the wood, and it glowed with a soft varnish finish. Titty danced round it, kissed Roger, and then had to wait till the day after Boxing Day to get help to get it back home. It had been made of waste from the carpenter's shop, and Roger had found the top in a farmyard. He told his mother he had paid the farmer threepence.  
  
Before the New Year the Walkers had taken Roger to Ipswich to start his year out as a stoker. It was, Mrs Walker decided, a brave thing to do. The masters at school had rather looked down their noses at the idea, but the teacher who had taught Roger engineering and helped him with the car had rung Mrs Walker and told her he thought it would be the making of her son.   
   
Very shortly after Titty returned to college there was an inter-college race which Titty just won, and Girton won the team race. She was picked for the university team for a race on a short flat course in a London Park. There, she came third, and Marion was beaten into fifth place, angry with Titty because she thought her friend should have paced her. A fortnight later there was a race in Sheffield which Titty won, with Marion coming third. This time Titty had paced her over the middle part of the course.  
  
There was a winter meet of the mountaineering club when she and Ralph were given tuition in ice climbing. For Titty, it opened a whole new chapter of opportunities, and when a fortnight later there was a second opportunity for further tuition she took it.  
  
Among the other things on Titty's schedule was an essay of at least 30,000 words for the language school at Lucerne. It was to secure a scholarship for the 1938 advanced language class, and it was an honour just to have been asked to compete. She had been nevertheless just a little surprised, as she had understood her place at Lucerne was secure. What had gone wrong? She could not imagine. When she read the letter a second time, she realized the essay was for an additional substantial grant.  
  
In spite of being given less work to do Titty worked hard and found herself going to her tutors with questions and advice without them coming to her. There were fewer brown envelopes, although they were no longer brown but plain white and anonymous.  
  
At the beginning of March there was a third inter university race and this time it was held in Newcastle. Titty contacted Nancy to see if they could meet, but Nancy told her she wasn't available. The team travelled north on Friday and had a look at the course on Saturday morning, finding it daunting. And by the afternoon it was windy, cold and raining hard. But Marion dropped behind early in the race and Titty felt free to do as she wished. On a steep hill early on the second lap she broke away and established a lead, but there was a second girl tracking her about twenty yards behind. Twice the girl made an effort to close the gap but Titty found enough strength to respond each time, and at the end of the race the second girl ran in just 15 yards behind. The time was good, very good. Titty turned and the two girls met, and Titty said, "You've just given me a really hard race, that was super!"  
  
"I just couldn't catch you," the girl said. She stopped, looked at Titty, and smiled, "You don't know me, but I know you, you're Titty Walker. I'm Ralph's girl friend, Maria. He thinks the world of you."  
  
They went off to the changing room friends and to form a friendship that would last many years. Maria became one of the closest friends Titty ever made while at university. Like Ralph, Maria was a mathematician, and wanted to teach.  
  
After Newcastle, Titty told the team captain she would not race again until after the exams. To the captain's protest, "You don't mean that?"  
  
"Yes, I do," Titty told her.  
  
"But that means they won't pick you for the national team!"   
  
"The exams are more important to me," said Titty and shrugged.  
  
The captain knew there was no point in trying to persuade Titty to change her mind, and she didn't try. Titty Walker was known to stick to her decisions whatever, despite her mild manner. When she passed on Titty's decision to the club officials they were angry. When they said they would try and persuade Titty she said, "You can try, but you won't get anywhere. She's the most stubborn person born." They never tried, but Titty was never asked to represent Britain, though other girls were.   
  
Meanwhile in Scotland Robert was having a few days off, the first for some time. On his way home he called in to see his solicitor. Alastair O'Donnell was an old friend and confidant.   
  
Bluntly, Robert said, "Alastair, have you done anything about my divorce?"  
  
He got the answer, "Very little, but we have evidence of desertion and adultery. It would be as well to renew the case, which would be relatively inexpensive. It's just that you have never seemed particularly interested. You altered your will, and I thought from what you have previously said you were not bothered?"  
  
Robert said, "I wasn't."  
  
Alastair eyed his friend speculatively and then said, "But you are now?"  
  
Robert said, "Only because it will take so damn long."  
  
Alastair said, "Is that the only reason?"  
  
Robert grinned, "For the time being, yes."  
  
"You'll be careful, if I know that Stuart he'll have a snooper following you." Alistair stopped and was silent for a minute, and said, "Even as far away as Switzerland."   
  
"Really, I'll be careful, but somehow I don't think it will be necessary," said Robert, and then went on to other things.   
  
Robert went on home to the estate and made his way to the cavernous mansion which was, he supposed, as much home as anywhere. He was late as usual, catching his father in the library before going down to the kitchens to order a meal. Their relationship was nothing if not formal. He spent the next day fishing with his brother. At lunchtime they got out their sandwiches and flasks of coffee. They talked about the estate, his father's health and his second wife, their stepmother, whom they both loathed. It was a way of catching up without listening ears. After a while, Robert said to his brother, "I've met a girl I'm vaguely interested in."  
  
Davie said, "I thought you'd given up women after Lucile."  
  
Robert said, "I had."  
  
Davie said, "Is she a looker?"  
  
Robert considered before he replied, "She is to me."  
  
Davie asked, "Are you serious?"  
  
Robert said, "I don't know yet, there's plenty of time."  
  
Davie said, "Take care of yourself, old boy, we don't want any repetition of last time."  
  
Robert's reply was, "There won't be."   
  
After which no more was said between them. But that night in bed with his wife Davie said, "Your favourite other man may have a girlfriend."  
  
Roz said, "Tell me more."  
  
Davie said glumly, "I don't know any more, at least not from Robbie."   
  
"Who else then?"  
  
"Alastair told me that when Robbie was in Switzerland, he spent two days walking with a little English girl."  
  
Roz said, "Anything else?"  
  
Davie said, "Not a thing."  
  
Roz said, "I'm sorry about that. If it comes to anything, we'll hear one way or another. If it does, I hope she's nice."   
  
No more was said but Davie knew his wife would be using her extensive network of friends and acquaintances to get a line on his brother's girl.  
  
In Cambridge, Titty found one morning there was a letter in her pigeon hole with a Scottish post mark and her address in Robert's now familiar bold hand. She turned it over and then took it to her room. Her hand was not quite steady as she opened it, worrying that perhaps he would say their friendship was at an end. But the note was quite short, saying he was to come to Addenbrooks and would she meet him as before?   
  
Titty wrote a short note back and wrote she would love to.   
  
At the hospital, Robert was not there in the entrance hall, but the old porter looked up and it seemed he must have been looking out for her, for he led her to a quiet corner of the dining room and seated her facing the window. "Dr Robert would be late," he told her, "But would you like a drink, a coffee perhaps?"  
  
She would, and the porter soon returned with two cups and saucers and a silver jug of steaming coffee. Titty gazed dreamily into the garden where the light was just beginning to fade. It was early spring, and the gardens were full of flowers. What would he say? she wondered, what would he talk about? Lucerne? Or ask about what she intended to do after graduating? How would they fill the time? There was a slight movement, and Titty looked up and Robert was there smiling down at her.   
  
Robert said gently, "How can you look better than when I saw you last term?"  
  
Titty said, smiling happily at him, "I am much happier."   
  
"Because you won those races, and told them you wouldn't race again until after the exams?"  
  
"How do you know that?" she asked,.  
  
Robert just laughed and said nonchalantly, "I've told you I seldom tell people where I get my information, not even you."  
  
By the end of the meal Robert had extracted from her, without trying very hard, all her hopes and fears for the future. It was only after he had walked Titty home and she was alone that she realized just how much she had given away.   
  
But it was his last question caught her by surprise, "I take it that there is a last dance for outgoing graduates?"  
  
She had said a cautious, "Yes."  
  
He said, "I'd like to accompany you to that dance."  
  
Titty was totally surprised, smiled and said eagerly, "Yes, please."  
  
He asked, "When is it?" and when Titty told him produced a diary from his pocket and noted the details down.   
  
Two weeks later Davie MacCulloch was not surprised when his wife told him, "I've got a line on Robert's girl."  
  
He said "Tell, then?"   
  
Roz said, "She's still a student at Cambridge, outstandingly clever, and I'm told she works hard into the bargain, which is just about as good a compliment as you can get from Lucile. She is a good athlete, she climbs, and is known up here as 'the little lass'."  
  
Davie whistled. "The little lass of the newspaper stories?"  
  
Roz went on, "Yes, the very same. My informant tells me she has a reputation for being a stubborn piece which is just as well. I am told she is very pretty. I am beginning to warm to her, even if she is English."  
  
Davie said, "That is very encouraging. I can only hope it prospers."  
  
Roz said shortly, "He needs her, if she's half as good as I've been told."   
   
Titty worked away though the term, concentrating on quality rather than quantity. The flow of big white envelopes slowed and stopped. She worked away at the Lucerne project, posting it off checked and double checked before the end of term, and by then all her six essays had been submitted and discussed. The exams loomed. She had continued to train with her friends and Marion won a couple of races, but Titty kept to her resolve not to take part. When she returned home it was evident that she was both happier and less tired than when she'd come home at Christmas. Furthermore, she was not asked to do any translation. She and her mother shared laughter at Roger's letters. They were short and vigorous, and though Roger admitted to finding life hard he was evidently having the time of his life.   
  
Then it was the final run up to the exams. Titty had a letter from Lucerne confirming they would like her attend, but there was no mention of grants. The school wanted to know if she would be taking up their offer, but their letter lacked what Titty really needed to know about money. She decided to confirm she would attend, but it did not really register much. There was only one thing on her mind, the exams. At last, the culmination of three years work, though Titty thought of it as longer than that. The finals were at last upon her. Rationally, she knew she had done all she could to prepare for this moment. Her tutors had been right, for she could never have sustained the pace she had originally set herself in the previous autumn. To swop quality for quantity was, she suspected, a gamble, but it was a gamble she had to take. Now she had reached the point when she would find out it if what she had done was adequate.   
  
Very quickly everything was submerged in the effort and concentration required to complete each paper. They followed one upon another so quickly there was no time for introspection. For ten days Titty lived in a desperate bubble from which everything else but exams was excluded. At the end of it all, she had no idea how she had done. it was a blur of effort. When time was called at the end of the last paper, all she could muster was a surge of relief.   
  
Students treated the end of the exams in different ways. Some partied, some holidayed, Titty had never been able to find the energy to do either. She slept and dithered and then went training, and booked herself to race, probably too soon.   
  
Immediately after the exams were over the athletics captain got in touch, and Titty agreed to run twice for the college, the races a week apart. In the first race she came a creditable third, but in the second her legs felt like lead and she faded and finished well down the field. Marion won. On the strength of her third place, Titty entered eight races in the summer. But prior to that two events loomed, one her results, and the other the dance.   
  
She bought herself a simple cream dress that she saw in a dressmakers window at a very cheap price. At the dressmaker's suggestion, she had it altered so that it fitted closely to her small figure and flattered her slimness. She had a note from Robert to say he would meet her at the dance, and he might be a little late due to an appointment at Addenbrooks. Then on the morning of the dance she received a single red rose delivered by a local florist.   
  
Before she left for the dance she pinned it firmly in her hair.   
  
She slipped shyly into the dance and was immediately collared by the tall miler who had captained the men's athletic team. Then Chris, and then Basil who was back from America, claimed for a dance each, and then the miler secured a second dance. He said as they danced, "I'm taking my chance while I've got it. When a certain doctor arrives that will be the end of it."   
  
Titty blushed, but she did not deny it.   
  
But he went on to say, "Last Saturday you are no doubt counting as a failure. But if I were you I'd forget racing until you come back next year. Finals take more than you expect."   
  
Titty thought, 'I'm not doing that. Besides, how does he know I'll be back next year?'   
  
He must have divined what she was thinking for he said, "You'll see," and smiled.   
  
The dance ended and Titty slid to a place by the wall from where she had a view of the door. Perhaps Robert couldn't come after all.   
  
Then a voice just to her left said quietly, "May I have the pleasure of the next dance with you, Miss Walker?"   
  
Titty turned and looked up at him, and saw the smile that lit up Robert's usually grave face. She could barely take him in. Whenever they had met before he had been wearing casual clothes, slacks, a country shirt and woollen tie and sports jacket, the clothes he presumably wore to hospital. Now he was resplendent in formal Scottish attire: short black jacket , white shirt, black bow tie and a kilt. She felt so un-smart and inadequate beside him.   
  
But had you asked him, Robert thought how pretty and distinguished Titty looked.   
  
She said, "Yes, please, Dr McCulloch."   
  
He whisked her on to the dance floor. She hadn't known he could dance, but she did now. She felt on air, she had to do nothing except be, and follow his steps.   
  
A gaggle of girls were standing looking on. One asked, "Who is that gorgeous man Titty's dancing with?"  
  
Another said, "I don't know, where is the dormouse?"  
  
Marion said, "I am going to dance with him before the evening's out."  
  
Annette was standing behind them with Charles, who said, "You won't get a look in."  
  
Marion's riposte was, "I will, you see."  
  
The first said, "Who is he? Charles? And where on earth did she meet him?"  
  
Marion said crossly, "Why should he get off with her?"  
  
Charles said in his soft drawl, "So many questions. He is Dr Robert McCulloch, a surgeon from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary." He lowered his voice and went on "She met him when she'd excelled herself in helping me off Buchaille Etive Mor. So you see they are two people to whom I owe if not my life, almost certainly, the use of my hand."  
  
The first spoke again, "The doctor who put your hand together?"  
  
Charles said, "The very same."  
  
Annette said, "Well. I knew Titty was pretty, but I've never seen her look as lovely as tonight! She's sparkling all over."  
  
"Cor, Titty with a real boyfriend. I can't believe it. So much for our quiet, shy, bashful Titty Walker."  
  
Charles said, "Don't assume too much, too soon. At present they are just very good friends." It was not quite what he said to Annette later in the night.   
  
The other person who danced with Titty that night was Ralph, while Robert danced with Maria.   
  
Robert and Titty left long before the end of the dance. He walked her back to Girton and left her, agreeing they should meet just after ten on Magdellan Bridge. He said, "Take me down the Cam and find me this picnic spot you've mentioned in your letters."  
  
Just before ten Titty was on the bridge. She gazed down unseeing at the gently flowing brown water, wondering what her future would bring. She hoped Dr Robert McCulloch would figure in it, and she hoped that she would be back at Cambridge next year. Were these two hopes irreconcilable, she wondered. For once she found it impossible to see that far ahead, but hopefully it would all work out for the best in the end.  
  
At the end of the bridge, Robert stood for a minute watching her. She was wearing an old blouse and shorts. She had shed the grown up look, and she seemed about 16. But when she turned at his step Robert realised her ferocious drive to achieve academic success had taken its toll and she looked tired, the vivacious girl of last night's dance giving way to a tired young student.   
  
Robert joined her looking down into the brown water and said, "What is the Cam telling you, Miss Walker?"  
  
She turned and smiled shyly and said, "Nothing, it doesn't." They talked for a few minutes and she said, "Robert, there's a funny little man watching us."  
  
He said, "I know. He's a private detective set on me by my wife. He's hoping to be able to catch me making love to someone, so that she can claim lots of money from me."  
  
"How horrible," Titty said., "Let me row you down the Cam to the picnic place. He won't follow us there. Except I have no picnic!"   
  
"I have," Robert said, "The hotel made it for me, enough for two."  
  
Rowing gently down the Cam at his request, Titty told him more about herself. About school, and living in one place after another, and holidays in the Lake District with Nancy and Peggy. About voyages with her mother and sometimes her father on the Goblin or with borrowed dinghies. About her athletics at school and then at college, and translating for the navy. How she adored her father and would do anything for him, of how she hated the navy for, as she put it, taking him away all the time. But she told him how she enjoyed being at home and sailing with John and Roger, and of days at home reading and talking, and Roger and Bridget making music. How her mother had always ensured they did things from visits to the theatre, to walks in the countryside and visits to museums. A home often filled with laughter and fun.   
  
When they got to the picnic place, she realised the man had followed them and was watching them. But they had their picnic, and Titty said, "I've told you lots about me, what about you?"  
  
It was not a pretty tale. As a child, Robert had lived with his parents in a huge gaunt, cold mansion on a vast estate. His father hardly took any interest in managing the land to optimise the income, and the estate began to lose money. Robert had been brought up by a nanny and gillies who took far more interest in him than his parents. He was a second son and his elder and adored brother would inherit the vast estate, but Robert was supposed to play a supporting role. From an early age he and Davie would range far and wide over the countryside getting up to mischief, walking, running and swimming, sometimes poaching on other people's land just for the hell of it. His father held shooting parties at a price, and they were ordered to assist the gillies.   
  
Then one terrible day an inexpert guest had mishandled his gun and Davie was shot. His leg was smashed below the knee. Their father had refused to take him to hospital for three days, which made things worse. The accident was hushed up. Davie's leg had never mended properly and he would limp all his life. But Davie had a natural ability to understand the potential of the estate and had begun to rebuild it as a commercial enterprise. His father's lairdship was merely a figment of the truth.   
  
Robert told Titty how after Davie's accident he refused to join in shoots ever again, and resolved to become a doctor. His nanny died and an older gillie who understood his dislike of shoots had taught him to fish, and showed him the ways and secrets of the wild creatures, of the birds and the infinite variety of plant life on the estate. Davie managed the estate on his father's behalf and gained the respect of the estate staff, and after a while met and married the tall, strong, self willed daughter of a minor local landowner, to his father's disgust.The Laird had hoped his elder son would marry into the aristocracy.   
  
Between Robert and his father there were endless rows and enmity over Robert's refusal to take part in shoots, and about his intention to become a doctor and other matters. Robert told Titty how his mother had died and his father married again to a widow whom he supposed was rich, only to find she was penniless. How his stepmother had forced her daughter on Robert and in a moment of weakness he had married her. Within a week his wife had demanded new clothes and jewellery, and when Robert refused she had returned to her former lover who had the money and inclination to indulge her. Robert mentioned his love of doctoring, and how he had abandoned everything else for it except mountaineering in Scotland. Finally, he confessed how his experiences made him deeply disillusioned with the human race.  
  
By the time they were rowing home Titty was wishing with all her heart to make up for Robert's parched and bare upbringing.  
  
The private detective had had a fruitless day. The wretched pair evidently had some experience of rowing, whereas his was mediocre. The only vantage point he could find was in a marsh, his clothes were a mess, and he had probably ruined a decent pair of brogues. The pair hadn't even embraced or kissed, so his spying had been fruitless.  
   
A few days later Titty was running again at on the White City track. The lead had changed several times. It was all irrelevant to Titty, who was running well down the field. When she finished she took off her spikes and carried them disconsolately towards the changing room, for it felt as though her life was in ruins. All the euphoria of the dance and Robert's visit had fallen away. It was her second failure in less than a week.   
  
A man not so very much taller than herself, Mr Dow again, she noted gloomily, fell into step with her. "Now you consider yourself a failure, yes?"  
  
"I am," said Titty.  
  
"Oh no, you are not. Promise me, when you've changed, meet me here," Mr Dow said.  
  
Titty had neither the nerve nor the energy to say anything other than yes, though she was furious with herself both for the failure and for complying with the man's request. Perhaps when she came out of the changing room he wouldn't be there. But he was. He took her to a small café near the stadium, and almost stood over her while she ate the teacake he had ordered and drunk a cup of tea. He ordered a second, and while they were waiting, he said, "You are in despair, yes?"  
  
"Of course," said Titty miserably.  
  
He said, "You expect to be able to run after you've poured all your effort and energy for almost three terms into getting your first?"  
  
"But yes, why shouldn't I do what other girls do? Besides, how do I know I'll get a first? The way I am at the moment I'll be lucky to get a third," Titty said.  
  
Mr Dow said kindly, "Because you're not, even you, a superwoman, and because over the last months academic success has meant far more to you than winning races, Besides you have never excelled on the track. As for getting a poor third, that is rubbish and you know it."   
  
Titty muttered, "I suppose so."  
  
He said, "Now go home tomorrow and take your mother a smile, cancel all those race bookings, have a holiday, train with those friends of yours on the base, go to Lucerne and come back to Cambridge next term and race again doing your first love, cross country."   
  
Titty left Mr Dow determined to do no such thing. She would have a spectacular summer winning, no matter what it cost. She was even considering giving up returning to Cambridge and finding a job in London, preferably with an some company that had not any links with Cambridge or her past.   
  
But when she woke in the morning she was less sure. She caught the train home with her baggage, and by the time she left the train in Ipswich she had all but given up the idea of racing in the summer. She had been told that morning her first was a reality, but it had not sunk in. . After a long ramble and talk with her mother during which she told her mother about her failure at White City, and what Mr Dow had said to her.  
  
Mrs Walker had asked, "Is it true?"  
  
Shamefacedly she acknowledged, "Yes, I suppose it is, Mummy."   
  
Mrs Walker had changed the subject and left Titty to make up her own mind. She had a walk down to the quay alone in the afternoon. When she got home she wrote to the organizers of the races, cancelling her appearances. She even wrote Mr Dow a short note telling him she had done so, and thanking him for his advice.   
  
She went to bed early and woke late. Suddenly it sunk in. She would be welcome at Lucerne, and in October she would be going back to Cambridge. She wouldn't have to go and work at the Admiralty after all. She would write to the old Admiral and tell him it would be plan one and not plan two.  
   
Her mother came upstairs, knocked and put her head round the door, and asked "Can I come in?"  
  
Titty said, "Of course."   
  
Her mother sat on her bed and said, "I've arranged we shall go to Mrs Jackson's for three weeks. Why don't you write to Robert and see if he could join us for a few days? See if Nancy and Peggy would like a walk."   
  
Titty did.


	17. Nancy nets Bernard

In the world of work Nancy was riding high. She was now earning substantially more than almost all her contemporaries, and on top of her income she now had the status of a director, She considered her position and her income so well established that she felt sure nothing could now go wrong. When she had come east of the Pennines after the fracas at the Cragside Hotel, she could not have foreseen that things would work out so well. 

She was even more contemptuous of Titty, apparently wedded to college life, content to have her nose constantly in a book and weighed down with the thought of the next essay or worse exam. She scorned Titty for not making the most of her social opportunities, and Nancy had now given up any hopes of making her see sense, enjoy herself and have boyfriends. Why couldn't she have agreed to meet Nancy in London? They could have had a great time together going to shows and dances and living it up. 

As for Peggy, Nancy felt disgusted that an ex Amazon pirate should be reduced to living such a dull and uninteresting life. Somehow the fact that Peggy had chosen to work in insurance said it all. Nancy thought of her sister's life as safe, secure and dull as ditchwater. Peggy, too, seemed to show a marked disinterest in seeking out men.

Air Services Limited had been set up and was now after six months well established. The directors had been paid out from the first profit distribution. It was not enough of course in Nancy's view. She thought Pete had been ridiculously conservative in the money he had permitted they should add to the director's distribution pot. She was furious that Pete had been insistent, ordering that each month they put sums of money into the rainy day account. Obviously, the investment was one more the thing that curtailed the amount of money available for distribution. Nancy considered Pete was being miserly. The difficulty was that he and Mr Hughes held the reins of power, because they had more money invested in the company than Mark and herself, and Mark was not prepared to take the battle to Pete. It was frustrating. 

But she worked very hard. Much of her time was spent in the air, especially since the doctors were now very regular customers, flying to the south west- Plymouth and Cardiff. Then there was Mr Hindley who used her services every week, sometimes for one day or sometimes three. Nancy was still no nearer in understanding what he actually did. She foresaw only that if they were sufficiently ambitious Air Services Limited could grow and grow, and her earnings with them. Nancy envisaged that they would soon be able to justify purchasing more modern, more powerful aircraft. Perhaps they would soon be able to employ a fourth pilot with a fourth plane, but that could only be achieved if they were truly committed to expansion. 

Their neighbours had been developing their business, too, but were not doing as well as Air Services Ltd. Nancy harboured a secret ambition that Air Services Ltd could buy that company and develop it with the energy that Nancy would provide. It was a dream that she nurtured in her leisure time, and had a notebook in which these plans were written down. There was only one difficulty she had yet to solve. She still only had £100 invested in voting shares, while Mark had upped his investment to £1500, and Nancy was unsure exactly the extent of Pete's share. Whatever the directors had invested, she thought things could surely only get better and better, and developing other businesses she decided, could come later. She would contribute that idea when Pete and Mr Hughes authorised a decent distribution of profit. 

Besides being constantly in the air she worked with Mr Hughes and Carl at a system whereby they could arrive at charges that would mean every job yielded them a profit. This, without taking so long to calculate a charge that administration made the job profitable. As a result of this exercise Nancy knew far more about the cost of running the company than she had before. This made her more cock-a-hoop about the future, although she still thought the profit margin the company sought was far too little. 

The only drawback for Nancy was that, however much she advanced her understanding, she never seemed to be to outwit Pete. Their battles amused him far more than they did her, and worse they angered her. He knew it and it amused him. Air Services Ltd made a small basic charge which included a sum to cover take off from Newcastle, a mileage charge, and then a charge for landing. They organised destination airports in a series of bands - at the top of the list were the bigger airports, and at the bottom the small grass strips they used across the whole country. Their pricing structure was now done, and Carl produced a two page plan that enabled them to arrive at a price for a job very quickly. Nancy thought profit should be calculated as a percentage, whereas Pete insisted on a single charge

Air Services Ltd had occasionally used a couple of drivers who had small vans to collect and deliver parcels, but now added a small van of their own. It was also used by Mr Hughes, who paid a sum into the Air Service account once a month for its use. The van added to the service that they gave their customers, and they all used from time to time. 

Nancy took a couple of days off when she discovered Lance was to be sent to do some selling in the Lake District area, at a point when Titty was staying at the Jackson's. Nancy hired a snazzy little sports car for the trip, and she and Lance arranged to stay at the same hotel in Ambleside. When the letter had come from Titty Nancy phoned her, and they had arranged to meet at Skelwith Bridge where the road to Langdale left the Ambleside Coniston road on each of the first three full days of Titty's holiday. Nancy told Titty she did not wish to climb, but would love a walk. They were to spent the first day walking over Bowfell and then on to Scafell, and on the Monday the Langdale Pikes. Nancy hoped to finish early so that she could be spend more time with Lance. 

When it came to it they had not got far up the Band before Titty asked, "How is the world treating you?"

That launched Nancy, "Very well! I can sometimes hardly believe it. Pete and Mark have made the partnership into a limited company. They have made me a director, and given me a big salary increase, so I'm really able to enjoy life."

Titty asked, "Have you got shares in the company, and what is it called?"

Nancy was able to tell her, "It's called Air Services Limited, and of course as a director I have shares. We have board meetings and I sit on the board." She hoped Titty would imagine her sitting smartly dressed at a big polished table, but she was not certain Titty was taken in. You could never quite tell what Titty understood and what she didn't. Nancy was fairly certain that she did not think that she, Nancy, was sitting in oldish clothes on a hard wooden chair in front of Pete's old desk at "board meetings". 

Titty asked, "How about the hockey and the tennis?"

Nancy told her, "I am a permanent fixture in the first hockey team now. We had a tremendous season, and we won the cup and the league. I am heading for success in two tennis tournaments and if things go on as they are I shall be in line for a couple of cups. But it's hockey I really enjoy." She went on to give a colourful description of her season's hockey playing and her successes in various matches. She went on to say she was having a great time with the boys, and how Lance was going to be with her tonight and what a good salesman he was. 

She wasn't so happy when Titty asked, "And what about Bernard?"

Nancy was forced to admit, "I haven't got him to go out with me yet, but I will. You see I'll get him soon."

Nancy went on to talk about her friends, the short holidays in Blackpool and London, and how she enjoyed the sights and going to dance halls, and the music and the excitement. She said, "You and I ought to fix up to meet in London and enjoy going to dances and shows."

Titty had said, "I don't think that is something I'd want to do."

They walked on to Esk Pike, by which time it was past lunchtime and they had eaten most of what they had. Nancy had had enough when they got to down to Esk Hause so they never reached Sca Fell, but made their way down Rossett Gill into Mickleden and back to Nancy's car. Nancy left Titty at Skelwith Bridge to catch the bus into Coniston. 

Lance she found had had a trying day, and had not been as successful as he had hoped he would. He was not very cheerful throughout the evening and she was disgusted with him. By the time she went to bed Nancy had begun to wonder if it was a mistake to come away with him when he was working.

On the Monday Nancy and Titty met again at Skelwith Bridge. They walked up to Stickle Tarn and stopped for their first snack.

Titty said, "Do you remember sitting here five years ago and seeing that stunt flyer, when you told me you'd learn to fly? You have done that, and now look at what that has led to. You've turned it all to your advantage, even that row at Cragside. You should be proud of yourself!"

Nancy said, "I am, and I still have ambitions that are not being met." 

Titty said, "Do you remember, we walked up to the tarn and we had the conversation? And then we climbed Jake's Rake, and we had to help that chap who was stuck? We met Mary when we came out of the Rake."

Nancy said, "Fancy you remembering all that, I'd forgotten all about it."

That enabled her to tell Titty about her life as a director, the people she met and where she went. 

Then Titty asked, "What about the future?"

Nancy said, "I think that the partners are still being far too conservative. They could expand the business if they would only take more risks."

Titty asked, "What do you mean?"

Nancy said, "Well. They could take out a loan and buy more aircraft. Employ another couple of pilots. And I'm certain we would get lots more work. I cannot persuade Pete particularly to invest in the future, he's scared of spending money."

Finding a willing listener, Nancy let rip. She told Titty about her real aspirations, about how she expected very soon the company would have new faster planes, and employ more pilots, and that would mean more money for her and her role would become more important.

Titty asked "Wouldn't that mean you would do less flying? And where would the money come from to buy the new planes?"

Nancy dismissed the comment, telling Titty she lacked ambition and foresight. She was rather put out when Titty did not seem to care, especially when Titty began asking detailed questions about how much the company really made. When Titty asked where they could borrow money, and how much interest they would have to pay, Nancy had to gloss over the questions because she did not know. She had to guess some of the answers she gave, and Nancy wondered if Titty did not actually believe her, which annoyed her. She put it down to Titty's failure to understand the way business worked. How could Titty understand such things when she lived in seclusion at university?

Nancy did not want to climb Jack's Rake again, so the pair walked up right from the tarn on to Parvey Ark. By the time they had got over Harrison Stickle, Nancy had had enough and they came down. 

They finished fairly early. But before they did so Nancy suggested that Titty meet her in London or Brighton and have a holiday, and Nancy would take her to a few shows and then go on to dance halls. She was very put out when Titty said bluntly, "I cannot imagine myself enjoying that as I said yesterday. Besides I've got to work to do in Shotley preparing stuff for next academic year."

On the way down Titty asked Nancy when she had bought the sports car, and Nancy was forced to tell her she had hired it. 

They planned to climb Wetherlam and then other tops in the Coniston Fells on the Tuesday. But Nancy decided she had not enjoyed either of the previous two days, and wished she had not bothered to agree to such a holiday. Besides, she had to acknowledge to herself that she and Titty seemed to have far less in common than they used to have. She felt she had grown up, and at heart Titty was still a school girl. Nancy was thoroughly put off when Titty had been so blunt about turning down the chance of a different sort of holiday. Anyway, what stuff had Titty got to prepare? And she had not told Nancy anything about what she proposed to do when she left college. Nor had she even told Nancy whether she had passed her exams, Nancy supposed she had, but since she was talking about preparing stuff, perhaps she hadn't. 

Things came to a head for Nancy on Monday afternoon, when she and Lance had a blazing row in the public car park over how they should spend their evening. When Mark rang the hotel to say could she cut her holiday short because Mr Hindley wanted to be taken south the following afternoon, it gave Nancy the perfect excuse. She rang the Jackson's, and on learning Titty was down by the lake, she left a message for Titty to say she would not be available to walk the next day. She was urgently needed by the company to fly an important customer south. 

Nancy had an early breakfast and returned to Newcastle in time to fly Mr Hindley south. She and Lance never made it up, they ceased to meet together, and Nancy resolved as well not to go walking with Titty again. Her visit to Ambleside made her realise her expectations of a holiday had changed. In addition, she decided that she and Titty had little in common, and it was pointless prolonging the friendship. She had found Titty impossible to understand. Titty seemed to think so differently from Nancy and her friends. When they were walking she stopped and looked at flowers and picked up bits of rock. These were things in which Nancy had no interest. Titty, she decided, was just was not making the most of her chances. Her friend spent far too much time reading and was not really making a success of life at all. She had not said a word about what she expected to earn, or what she was going to do after university. 

On both days Titty had had not much to say for herself at all, and had hardly talked on the way down either day, except asking Nancy about the car. 

Nancy had enjoyed driving the little sports car and was determined to replace her little Morris with one as soon as she could. Perhaps Bernard, or someone else would buy her one. If only, Nancy thought, she could net Bernard. She was sure Bernard had plenty of money, he always behaved as though he did. 

Back in Newcastle, Mr Hindley was waiting for her and they flew straight off to Nottingham. Then on to Canterbury, a town that Mr Hindley visited quite often and where he frequently spent the night before flying on elsewhere. That afternoon Nancy determined that in future she would turn Titty's invitations' down. She would write to her regularly, and if she regaled Titty with what she was doing, hopefully Nancy might instil her old friend with a bit more ambition. Nancy might even get her interested in having boyfriends.

She brought Mr Hindley back late on Thursday evening and found a message asking her to ring Peggy urgently. Nancy put the note in her pocket and forgot about it. She flew to Glasgow in the morning, on to Greenock and back to Edinburgh before returning to Newcastle. There she found another message from Peggy. But Nancy had been late getting back, and only just had time to change for a night out with her friends. She finally got around to ringing Peggy on Saturday morning. 

Peggy had news for her. Captain Flint had been found dead on the Fram on Wednesday morning of that week. Peggy had had to run around making arrangements. Because he had died on the Fram the police had had to be called, and Peggy had had to arrange for a post-mortem. Their mother had shown no interest in the death of her brother, telling Peggy she had no interest in Jim and would not attend the funeral whenever it was. She had told Peggy, "When he was so rude, and so very foolish to reject Mrs Grove's proposal, I wanted nothing more to do him. Now he's dead that still applies. And since you rejected Mrs Grove's plans for you, you and Nancy are just as bad."

Peggy said that Mr Lisle had been very helpful throughout and the funeral was likely to be next Friday. Nancy said she would be there, and asked if there was a will. Peggy told her there was, and it was being dealt with by Mr Lisle. When Nancy asked what was in it Peggy told her she didn't know.

Nancy was annoyed and told Peggy, "You might have found that out, for goodness sake." 

She had already decided what money she got from Captain Flint she would split, some for herself and some to boost her shareholding in Air Transport Services Ltd - it was the ideal solution. So perhaps she would be able to buy that sports car she had promised herself. 

Peggy was left to make the funeral arrangements, and as the Walkers were still at the Jackson's farmhouse, they came to the funeral. Nancy had flown into Millom and had borrowed a car, with the intention of returning to Newcastle that evening. The funeral was well attended since Captain Flint was well known and well liked in the local community. Mr Lisle was there, and he took Nancy and Peggy to one side. He explained that the will was quite complicated, and some of it was in some kind of code. It would be sometime before they knew how much their Uncle Jim had left, because there were a few debts and tax issues to be resolved, and Mr Turner was owed substantial sums by his publishers. However, Mr Lisle told them, any money was to be paid into the trust funds that had been set up by their father. 

Nancy was furious. This had been the last thing she had expected. She immediately decided she would see if the terms could be set aside. After the meeting with Mr Lisle she suggested to Peggy they challenge the will, only to find that Peggy wasn't interested. That annoyed her even more. She left the refreshments early, and returned to Newcastle determined to seek legal help.

Before he left Mr Lisle asked Peggy to drop in and see him. When she did, early the following week, he told her of the arrangements he had made. He asked if the Fram should be sold, and told her that he was pursuing the publishers for the money they owed, but he needed her help with his tax affairs. He said that part of the will was in code and asked if she knew someone called Miss Walker. 

Peggy said, "Yes."

Mr Lisle told her, "I thought I remembered correctly, you holidayed with a family called Walker. And I believe they were at the funeral. I've been given Miss Walker's name as someone who might solve the part of the will written in code." 

Peggy rang Titty while she was still in Mr Lisle's office, and Titty agreed to have a look at the will. Mr Lisle told Peggy that there was a problem because Titty was also a beneficiary of the will. Because of her help, your Uncle has written, 'Miss Titty Walker was instrumental in finding Mixed Moss when it was stolen. Later she has assisted me in translating my books into French and Italian.'" Mr Lisle had looked over his glasses at Peggy and asked her, "Do you know anything about this?" 

"No, Mr Lisle, I do not," said Peggy. "Titty is a good friend of mine, and she did find Mixed Moss, but I had no idea she had done any translation for my uncle. She is younger than we are, and brilliant at languages. She is a very quiet sort of person and very private."

Mr Lisle asked, "Is she an athlete, by any chance?"

"Yes," said Peggy. "She runs like the wind, when she is on form no one has a chance. But she wears herself out studying and then doesn't do so well. I had no idea she did translation beyond the work she does in college."

"What about this solving coded messages business?" Mr Lisle asked.

Peggy said, "Mr Lisle, I know nothing about that whatsoever."

Mr Lisle said worriedly, "Well, your Uncle Jim's nonsensical message will be passed to her. I cannot do anything more with the will until I know what's in it. There was an instruction to send it to Miss Walker. Now you've spoken to her and she has said she'd have a look at it, we'll have to see what happens. What will she charge I wonder, it is very specialized sort of work?" He went on to say, "Well. we'll have to see. Peggy, your sister did not seem too happy about your Uncle's arrangements. I gather she is going to contest the will, but on what grounds I cannot imagine."

Peggy said, "I think my sister had already made plans to spend her inheritance. It will do her no harm not to have it yet, she shouldn't be short of a penny or two. She is earning a great deal more than most of us. It won't do her any harm to have to curtail her buying things."

Mr Lisle laughed and said, "That's forthright any way."

He called Peggy again a fortnight or so later and asked her if she could call in on her way home from work. Peggy did. She was shown in by Mr Lisle's secretary, and saw that on the desk lay her Uncle's coded instructions. Mr Lisle stood up, shook Peggy's hand and invited her to sit down. He said, "I have your friend's translation of your Uncle's mystic message. In fact, I met Miss Walker. I had to go to London and met her at your uncle's publishers. She explained the code with great clarity, and I have to say I found her rather sweet. She refused to charge anything for what she did. I was visiting your Uncle's publisher while in London to clear up his affairs and she was there on other business. I am under the impression she was doing translation for them. The message reiterates his firm ideas about the legacy not being generally available to you until you've each reached 30. The message specifically precludes the trustees from making any advance from his part of the fund. I've got a second opinion, and it is perfectly legal including the instructions in this message."

"Thank you," Peggy said, "Does this really add anything to what we already know?"

"Yes, I am afraid it does," said Mr Lisle. "It makes it very clear that no part of your uncle's money may be used to fund any allowance to either you or your sister, and we are as trustees not permitted to use it to make an advance in any circumstance. We shall have to invest it as best we can until you both reach 30. I was uncertain if such a restriction could be imposed, so I asked for a second opinion, and it can. Your uncle makes it clear that he has done it this way because he considers there is sufficient in the rest of the fund to meet every contingency. Do you wish me to pursue the matter any further?"

Peggy said, "No, I don't. I am quite happy as I am. But I think you should know my sister is not one bit happy. We've rather fallen out over it. I gather from what she says that she wishes to challenge the legality of this condition. She intends to consult a solicitor in Newcastle."

Mr Lisle looked at Peggy rather sadly and said, "I may of course be wrong, but I think Nancy could find herself spending a great deal of money to no purpose. Do you know why she wants the money? No," he said swiftly, "I shouldn't ask you that. It is not ethical."

Peggy said, "She told me, and I see no reason not to tell you. You are aware she has been made a director of the company for which she works?"

"Yes," Mr Lisle said.

"Well, I gather she did not contribute much when she was appointed, and they expected her to make further contributions which she hasn't been able to do. She hoped to use Uncle Jim's legacy to satisfy them."

Mr Lisle said, "My understanding is that Nancy works very hard and makes a valuable contribution to the business. She is paid a handsome salary."

Peggy said, "Yes."

Mr Lisle went on, "All the same, you must know we pay her an allowance, and I think we would be loathe to make any further lump sum payment to her, even to help her buy into this business."

Peggy said, "She enjoys life, and one way and another spends quite a lot. So far as I am concerned I am content to leave things as they are. We are very different. I suppose we have always been that way, but as we've grown up the differences seem to have become greater. She considers I am very boring and un-ambitious. The fact is, Mr Lisle, I am very happy as I am."

Mr Lisle nodded and said good bye, and Peggy went on her way.

For Nancy there came a real blow. One afternoon, she was sitting in the shed when she heard a noise of an aircraft coming in to land. Something was obviously amiss. She looked out the window and saw it was Mark, approaching the airfield at the wrong angle and too fast. To her horror, the nose of the plane crashed into the ground with a sickening crunch. The plane flipped over on to its back, and she could see Mark hanging upside down in his harness. 

Nancy was the third person to reach him. The two men who reached the stricken plane first quickly released Mark and laid him gently on the ground. Mr Hughes arrived almost as soon as Nancy. One of the men was checking Mark over. Miraculously, he was still alive, although the windscreen had smashed and splintered into his face. Nancy and Mr Hughes began to pick pieces of glass from his face, while in the distance the bell of the ambulance could already be heard. When the ambulance arrived, it seemed no time before the crew had eased Mark on to the stretcher and lifted him into the ambulance. He was still unconscious. 

Mr Hughes went away to the hospital with his son Ralph, and the engineer arrived and told Nancy she could leave the plane with them and they would see to it.

Nancy went back to the shed to find that Carl had already been ringing round to check where Pete was. Eventually they tracked him down to an airfield near Southampton. He said he would fly straight back to Newcastle. Mark had been due to fly down to Coventry, and Nancy decided she would do that and could be back either tonight or in the morning. Carl informed their agent. 

When she reached Coventry she phoned the hospital but could not get hold of any news. In the morning she phoned again, and learned Mark had come round and was now undergoing tests. She found to her disgust that her hands were shaking, but she sat there for a few minutes and it went off. There was a job to do to Hendon in the morning but she passed it to their colleagues in the next door shed. Two customers agreed to travel by train, and another gave them more time to do the job. When she and Pete met that evening, they went through the work they had and reallocated it. Even so, it was inevitable that they would not cover all the work coming their way. Mark's crash would have an impact upon their earnings almost immediately. They sought and got help from the chaps in the shed next door.

Thankfully, Nancy and Pete heard from Mr Hughes that Mark was in no immediate danger, which was a great relief. His only injuries were the cuts to his face, and a broken arm. Mark, Mr Hughes said, could not remember anything beyond the approach to the airport and therefore the cause of the crash was a complete blank. Mark had to undergo numerous tests, but they were inconclusive and after three days he was sent home with instructions to rest for at least a fortnight. 

Pete and Nancy decided he must have been knocked unconscious when the plane flipped over, and that explained his memory lapse. 

Pete dealt with the insurance, and he and Nancy were very thankful that the aircraft had been fully insured. The assessor had seen it the next day, and the engineer was able to begin repairs immediately. The aircraft could be repaired, but the engine was so badly damaged it would have to be replaced. That was a problem, because an exact replacement could not be found, so it was replaced with a more powerful engine and the company had to make a contribution to the cost. Pete used the rainy day fund to pay for that. 

Meanwhile Pete and Nancy were in the air seven days a week and Nancy had never been busier. She missed the start of the hockey season, and for four weeks she seemed constantly in the air. 

It was during this period that Nancy received a formal letter from Mr Lisle informing her he needed to see her. She was angry. She tried to persuade Mr Lisle to tell her the details over the phone, but he refused. Eventually, he agreed to inform her by letter. The letter was quite long but dealt exclusively with the provisions of her uncle's will. The terms made her furious, since they tied up the money in such a way that she could not access it until she was 30. 'Why 30?' she thought, when she needed it now. By the time she was 30, Nancy decided, she would be a director of a large and successful company. 

Nancy had planned to split the money between buying herself a sports car and her investment in Air Services, just as she had told Peggy. There had been a small profit distribution at the beginning of July, and Pete had been quite sharp with her because she had only used £50 of the sum to invest in the company. The only silver lining, which made Nancy more angry than ever, was that Captain Flint had left far more money than she had imagined he would. She had an acrimonious conversation with Peggy, who refused categorically to contemplate any attempt to overturn the restriction, saying she thought it was a waste of money to try.

Nancy wrote to Mr Lisle a letter of complaint, and remained angry that Peggy was apparently quite happy to go along with Captain Flint's restrictive scheme. 

Peggy had had no letter, but had gone to see Mr Lisle. She told Nancy Mr Lisle had told her that Captain Flint had left Titty £200. Mr Lisle had suggested quite openly that it might be better if she should not tell Nancy, but Peggy had told him Nancy might find out later and it would be better that she knew. Nancy grumbled that her Uncle had given Titty lolly, and didn't see why she should not have her bequest as well. She was so livid that she was not getting the money straight away that her anger overshadowed everything else. 

She would probably been even angrier had she not been so busy. After two weeks Mark was allowed to return to work, but his broken arm meant he was unable to fly. He worked in the office, doing things that had largely fallen to Pete. 

There, Mark became fairly sure that though Nancy often took their account books home, she seldom checked them thoroughly. He decided not to tell Pete. 

After a break of six weeks his aircraft was repaired and Mark returned to full time flying. What had gone wrong remained a mystery. But Air Services Ltd quickly recovered the business they had had to pass on, and no long term harm was done.

It had one very beneficial effect for Nancy. Late one Friday afternoon she had just got back from Birmingham when the phone rang. When she answered, a voice she did not recognise asked, "And so how is Miss Director?" 

Nancy nearly slammed the earpiece down, but answered, "Well enough, thank you. Who is it?" 

Her heart jumped. It was Bernard. He wanted to know how Mark was, remarking that Mark was a distant cousin. The upshot of the conversation was that Bernard asked Nancy out on Saturday night, saying that he would collect her. 

When Bernard rang off Nancy skipped gleefully round the room, absolutely thrilled. She had to sober up, as she had to fly over to Carlisle in the morning. It was very apt that she had recently fallen out with Lance. She took great care with her appearance, spending time having a scented bath and ensuring her make up was perfect, and she wore a daring red dress. She decided the overall effect was quite stunning. 

They had a super evening. Nancy had to give Bernard a full account of Mark's accident, and of how busy she had been. She managed to avoid the reasons for the accident, concentrating on the drama of the event. She needed to exploit the occasion to it the maximum, and while drinking at a small table in the lounge she managed to allow her skirt to ride up displaying her legs to optimum advantage. They both had soup and then he had steak and she Dover sole, and they both finished the meal with extravagant ice creams. Nancy talked about flying and Bernard talked cars, and again Nancy wondered how she could engineer things to replace her old Morris with a sports car. Bernard was considerate enough not to keep her up too late as she was to fly to Glasgow in the morning. 

Best of all Bernard suggested at the end of the evening that he could take Nancy out on the following Saturday night. The Sunday would, if all went according to plan, be the first Sunday she had had off for some four weeks. 

At last, she had landed her man.

It was only in the morning flying to Glasgow that Nancy realised she had given away rather more about herself and her financial status than she had intended. Whereas she had hardly found out anything about Bernard's affairs. She would have to change that, next week. 

It was a busy week and Nancy was able to play her first game of hockey that weekend. The 2nd 11 was playing at home, so she requested she play with them. It gave her time to get home and dress for the evening, which she did with the same care as the previous week. Now she had landed Bernard she had no intention of sharing him with anyone else. 

He arrived in a very smart Humber and she was mightily impressed. They made a feast of it again, and this time there was a dance at the end. Bernard didn't take Nancy home until morning, and he gave her an excellent kiss before they parted. 

Then there was a joint club meal and dance the following week when both hockey teams and the rugger 1st 15 were playing at home. When Bernard had gone, Nancy hugged herself. Things were going far better than she could have hoped. That would show up Peggy and Titty for the slow coaches that they were! She was confident she had landed her man, and now she had to advance his interest and nail down her advantage.

During the week Bernard arranged to collect Nancy before the matches and ensure they could travel home together. They did, and as she hoped, Bernard stopped the car in a quiet spot and they had a good snog. 

The next weekend both the first teams were playing away at a Sunderland club, and again there would be a dance after the game. Nancy had an exceptionally good game and scored twice. Bernard had a good game too, but had had a contretemps with the skipper of their opponents on the field. Then they squared up to each other at the bar, but fortunately there was someone on hand to calm things down. They travelled back on the coach together and in the darkened coach Bernard managed a sly tickle on her thigh. He took Nancy home, and they stopped again and had a snog.

Nancy did not really rouse herself until dinner time, and then only when the phone rang. It was Peggy, to say that the will had cleared all the hurdles. Nancy upbraided Peggy for not taking issue with Mr Lisle over the will again, but Peggy was having none of it. She told Nancy roundly that, "If that was the way Uncle Jim wanted it then that was the way it should be."

Nancy was furious and told her, "I'll see about that, I will." She slammed the phone down and when it rang again did not answer it. 

Peggy did not ring the following Sunday. Nancy had been out twice with Bernard that week, and she had given vent to her feelings about Uncle Jim and the bloody will. Bernard had given her the name of a solicitor who might be prepared to take up her cause. He had taken her out to a hotel again, and in the back of the car he became quite adventurous. Bernard certainly did not pertain to the idea they should abide by the nothing below the waist precaution. Nancy was most displeased on Monday morning when Mr Hughes volunteered that she should take care dating "Young Bernard". What business was it of his anyway?

Nancy contacted the solicitor Bernard had suggested, who said he would take up her case, but she had to pay £10 in advance. She felt very confident he would soon find a reason for Mr Lisle to overturn her Uncle's provisions. That was, even if it did take a few weeks. 

Meanwhile she became very familiar with the back seat of Bernard's Humber. 

Together, Nancy and Bernard made plans with two other couples to pay a visit to London before Christmas. They booked themselves into a hotel for four nights and obtained tickets for a couple of shows, including a Christmas pantomime. They planned to travel down by train and spend time viewing the shops and Christmas lights. In the evenings, they planned to go to dance halls in the West End. Far better, Nancy thought, than mooching about the valleys of Lakeland on a chilly winter's day.

On the second evening Bernard and Nancy took a taxi to the theatre. There was a lot of traffic and became snarled up in a traffic jam. Nancy was looking out the window when her attention was caught by a big polished front door, and when it opened an elderly and smartly dressed gentleman and a young woman emerged. It was the young woman whom Nancy noticed. She was small, and wore a smart flattering dark coat and carried a brief case, but she wore no hat and her well brushed hair hung over her shoulder. There was something familiar about her. The gentleman said something and she smiled and he smiled back. He took her hand lifted it, kissed it and let it fall, they obviously said good bye, and she turned and walked away on high heels. 

It was the walk that did it. The young woman was Titty Walker. The clothes, the composure, and the look caught Nancy entirely by surprise,. What was Titty doing in London? Looking smarter than Nancy believed possible? But Nancy had missed a remark of Bernard's, and failed to laugh when she should. For the moment she forgot about Titty and turned to enjoy her evening of entertainment. 

She might have forgotten all about it, except that the next day she and Bernard were walking up Whitehall past the Admiralty Nancy noticed two officers talking to a young woman. They were laughing. apparently at some remark the woman had just made. As they got nearer a naval car drew up, and one of the officers opened the passenger door. The woman got in. In unison, both officers lifted their caps and the car joined the rest of the traffic and drove away. Nancy knew it was Titty, again, looking very smart.

But she and Bernard had a great time with plenty of food and drink on all four nights. They danced until well into morning, and cauught taxis back to the hotel where the night porter provided them with nightcaps. On three of the nights they went back and had a fondle and a snog before turning in, and they did not rise until after 11. 

On the way home in the train everyone dozed after their late nights. Nancy woke up after a sleep with a vision of Titty having her hand kissed, and thought it had been part of a dream. Except it wasn't, she was certain, and then it dawned on her it had happened and she had seen it. She still wondered what Titty Walker was doing swanning about London looking smart, pretty and sophisticated. Being treated with old world courtesy by patrician elderly gentlemen, and handed into taxis and practically saluted by handsome naval officers with gold braided sleeves and caps. 

What got to Nancy was the way the men had treated her, and how at ease Titty was with them. Nancy bit her lip, because she could not imagine she herself would show such insouciance, especially with handsome naval officers. This was Titty Walker of the old blouses, used sweaters and shorts, with her hair untidily down her back. In London, she had looked positively svelte and somehow herself. The smartest Nancy had seen her was in a plain white blouse and woollen skirt, and comfortable brogue shoes. But this was different. Suddenly Nancy knew she was envious, for no distinguished gentleman had bent over her hand and kissed it with such an air of grace and pleasure. If it had happened, she was aware she could not have treated it with the sophistication Titty had shown. Nancy was suddenly aware that Titty wasn't quite the person she supposed her to be. Perhaps after all Titty did not spend all her time in a garret room with her nose in a book. It was the brief case that really got to Nancy, for it was carried with an air of composure, of authority and knowledge of her value in the world. 

Had Titty known that that was the image she projected she would have been embarrassed, and would probably laughed.

Nancy was busy. Her days filled with flying and doing the thing she loved, and she was enjoying herself in her leisure time meeting men and going out with them. Dressing the part, and dancing the night away and going to the theatres, this was the life she liked and enjoyed. Had she known it she would have found Titty's intellectually demanding ways and the discipline that went with it impossible. Titty still loved the wild and remote hills and valleys of Wales, the Lake District and when opportunity presented itself, Scotland.

As Christmas approached Nancy decided she would have a Christmas Eve party. She secretly hoped Bernard would buy her a ring, and that would be wonderful. Nancy prepared for the party by buying in wines and spirits, and the lads intended to bring along a barrel of beer. This time, she took the precaution of warning her neighbours, and half promising it would all end by 1 o'clock. She bought in plenty of food. She was no cook, so much of what she provided was either made or bought from Mrs Rolls, who did not ask too many questions but pocketed the money gratefully. 

It was a great party. Though not as noisy as the house warming, and Nancy did indeed usher her guests away just after 1. Bernard remained, and they had an energetic kiss and cuddle on the settee, they got even better acquainted with each other's bodies but Nancy drew the line at removing her underclothes. She hoped Bernard would give her a ring and invite her to his parents for Christmas Day, but he didn't. Instead, he drove away just after 2 am. It left Nancy to tidy up on Christmas Day, she had no turkey or trimmings for her Christmas dinner, but was left to use up the leftovers. 

Next year, it would be different.

Boxing Day was better, much better. There was a match with teams from the next village, followed by a dance that lasted into the early hours. Bernard had forgotten to tell her he would not be there and Nancy was rather put out by that, but danced with all her old flames. She got some black looks from some of her friends when she pinched their men for a dance, but that was their look out. But without Bernard, the evening ended in the early hours without any pleasurable fun. 

Nancy would have been discomforted and angry had she known he was canoodling with a distant relative whom he had always fancied, and whom his parents hoped he might eventually marry. Had she known that Peggy had been a guest of Bernard's parents that Christmas she would have been furious. Peggy's and Rodney's courtship was progressing at a sedate pace, and his parents rather cared for his choice of girl. 

By nine the following day she was in the air again enroute for Glasgow and then on to Greenock. There was a profit distribution on the 1st of January and it was £100. Somewhat against her will she split it, paying £50 to Pete to add to her shareholding. She got the impression he was expecting more, but she needed the £50 for clothes. He would have to wait for more. Nancy believed that Bernard's friendly solicitor would win Uncle Jim's legacy from Mr Lisle's clutches. 

There was a New Years Day dance when Bernard and Nancy got together again, but Bernard was rather vague about how he had spent Christmas and Nancy rather assumed he had got so drunk he had hardly known what was happening, which was not the case.

Mark had not been well over Christmas and had been plagued with headaches since his accident. At the next directors' meeting it was agreed that Nancy would take over his patch of the Midlands and the South East, while he covered the local work. It meant Nancy had more time away from Newcastle during the week. She tried to be home on Tuesdays for hockey training, but it was not always possible. It made it easier to justify flying Mr Hindley whose interests seemed mostly on the Midlands patch. 

It was at the end of this meeting that Pete dropped a bombshell as far as Nancy was concerned. They began to talk about the growing workload and the demands made upon them and the aircraft. The discuaaion was triggered by Pete telling them that he had been told that sooner or later his aircraft would need a new engine. Nancy said, "Well, why don't we buy a new aircraft and employ a pilot?"

Pete looked at her bleakly and said, "Because there isn't the money to buy one at present."

Nancy said, "Well why don't we borrow it? At least that way we'll have expanded the business."

Pete answered brusquely, "We've only just paid off paying for Tiger Lily. I have no intention with lumbering the company with more debt at this stage. Besides we haven't yet generated enough work to employ another aircraft full time, nor a pilot. And I'm not in favour employing a pilot, at least, not yet. I've been talking to Giles Broadbent and he would like to join us on a freelance basis. There are, I consider, big advantages - he will come with his own aircraft, and he has other business interests which are flexible so he can be flexible. I've looked into the insurance and we can extend our cover to include an independent contracted to us. What do you think?"

Mark said, "I like Giles. He is a sensible sort of chap and has extensive contacts."

Mr Hughes commented, "That it would be a sensible solution to a short term problem. I am sorry, but I am not prepared to put any more money in than I have already. I feel I have risked enough."

Pete told them, "As we have expanded we have needed more money to pay for additional fuel and our landing fees and bits and pieces, and I have in effect loaned the company £2000 which I'm not altogether happy about. What about you, Nancy? I really did expect you to have made a bigger contribution by now, especially in view of the bonus money we've paid out."

Nancy said, quite crossly, "I contributed last time. When I get my Uncle Jim's money I'll make a contribution."

Pete said, "I thought you told me it wasn't available to you until you're 30?."

Nancy said, "Oh, that's just my silly trustees. I've got someone working on that." 

She did not like Giles Broadbent. He played rugger for the second 15, and was a very conservative player who always avoided mixing it. He was tall and reserved, seldom attended socials and was regarded as a bit straight laced.

However by the end of the meeting it was carried 3 to 1 that Giles would be invited to join them as a freelance pilot. It was left to Pete to iron out the details. 

Nancy flew off to Coventry immediately after the meeting. She was in a bad temper because she had been overridden, and for the first time her failure to make a contribution had been noted in public. In her eyes, the refusal to consider having a loan boded badly for future expansion to the extent that she had envisaged. For the first time she wondered, if Bernard's solicitor friend Bruce secured Uncle Jims money, should she seek another partner and expand in the way she believed was feasible?

Later that week she went to see Bruce and he was full of confidence that he had found the means to nullify Uncle Jim's restrictions. He asked for a further advance, and Nancy gave him £20 which made it £50 she had paid him so far. In paying that, she knew she would have no more for him for six months or so. but from what he said she was confident she would have the money very shortly, and so she ended the week feeling in better fettle than she began it. She began to explore the idea of setting up on her own and it appealed to her. 

By the end of the following week Bruce had rung her to say he fully expected to obtain the money within two months. She decided she would say nothing to the others in case an opportunity to breakaway presented itself. Meanwhile, they were very busy, and Nancy was often flying on Saturday mornings. Admittedly she was paid more money now, but she got no extra when she flew on Saturdays. Things got worse when she was delayed in Derby. She missed a cup game, and her team had to find a substitute at very short notice. Then she was caught out again the day of the cup final and missed out on a medal. 

The idea of going it alone or with another partner appealed more and more. That way she could control her own life. 

But it was three months since she had given Bruce £20, and he seemed no nearer the breakthrough Nancy needed so badly. She had rung him a couple of times, and each time he was ebulliently confident he would be successful but the deed seemed always just beyond him. She had to give him a further £20 by squeezing her expenses here and there, but she acknowledged to herself that in fact he seemed to have made no progress whatsoever. For the first time, she began to wonder if after all he would not get her the money. 

'The fact is,' Nancy thought rather grimly, 'I'm in danger of falling out with Pete and Mark.' She seemed so often at odds with them. It annoyed her that the arrangement with Giles was working out very well, proving to be a great success, and he certainly brought with him more business than even Pete had anticipated.

The fact was that the only thing in her life that was going really well was her relationship with Bernard. Their sessions together on the back seat of the Humber were now a regular feature of her Saturday, and sometimes her Tuesday evenings. Nancy acknowledged she was well paid, but she earned it, and had in her opinion to work exceeding hard for her money. It had not pleased her one bit that Peggy had rung up to inform her she was now engaged to Rodney. He had, Peggy told Nancy, engineered himself a transfer to his insurance company's Kendal office. Nancy had even heard a rumour that he was the No 2 there. Nancy had not even known that Peggy was that serious about him. If Bernard knew, she had not told her. Nancy had a go at him about it and he had passed it off as some thing that had hardly mattered. 

She took the chance to have a real good go at Peggy over Uncle Jim's will, especially as she really needed the profit distribution to pay a debt. 

Afterwards she had asked Bernard about Rodney. He had not given her a straightforward reply, and she suspected he didn't know. It was no secret the brothers did not get on. 

But then Bernard obtained two tickets to watch motor racing at Brooklands, with an invitation to the pits. He and Nancy made the most of the visit and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Bernard told Nancy he was regularly the salesman who sold more cars than his colleagues, and she thought he would soon be made a director or at least join the senior management team. But his friend Bruce still had failed to shift Mr Lisle's adherence to her Uncle's conditions, and all of a sudden the prospect of success seemed as far if not further away than ever. 

It was all very frustrating.


	18. Titty Returns to Lucerne

Titty was not altogether surprised when she got Nancy's message. Somehow, she had known that Nancy had grown out of rambling on the fells and yearned for some other kind of holiday. She thought it would probably involve whoever was the flame of the moment, and not walking in the hills. Titty decided that it would be healthier for Nancy if she had one man to pursue, but maybe that was a silly and priggish notion. After all, now there was in reality only one man of consequence in her life, why should any other woman be just the same as she was? And now it was pleasant to think that tomorrow she need do nothing except please herself. It was a warm day and Titty spent it on the field below Holly Howe alternately snoozing, reading and jotting notes in preparation for Lucerne. 

Mrs Jackson looked out approvingly at her favourite guest whom she had decided needed a rest, and fresh air. 

Titty spent sometime sitting on the landing stage that extended into the Lake just thinking. It suddenly dawned on her for the first time that she had fulfilled her ambition to secure a first and return to university, with the chance to study more languages and perhaps learn to decode messages. She decided she had been very lucky. She was always busy. Indeed had she not been sitting here now she would have been translating for Germans at Shotley and remembering to be circumspect. 

On her desk at home there were files of work waiting for translation, and it had been her mother who had insisted that she ring the publishers to tell them it might take her longer to translate the book she was working on. Titty had expected them to be annoyed, but they were quite happy and even thanked her for letting them know. The gentleman had even said he thought she deserved a holiday. 

How much she was earning never concerned her too much, but these days what with the work she did for the Admiralty, the book translation and the odd lecture she seemed to be frequently paying cheques into her account. So much so that her mother had insisted she went and saw an accountant who occasionally worked on the base. He had gone over what she had received that year and told her there was no need to worry about the previous years earnings. However, if she continued to earn as she had been recently, she would liable for tax. But as much of Titty's income had been won in academic competition that did not count as taxable earnings. 

Titty had found the conversation very interesting and she and the accountant had talked for some time. She decided taxation and accountancy was something she would have to learn to understand so that she would at least able to do her own taxation. It seemed likely that she would, at least for a while, be earning not just a salary. The accountant suggested that as she seemed to spend very little she should open a building society account, and she had done so. Really, her financial needs were minimal. She had been surprised, even shocked, at how much money she had accumulated. Just before she had come away she had received a letter from the college telling her that her accommodation and meals would be free and she would be paid a small tutoring salary from September, but that whatever extra lecturing she did would be paid separately. 

That morning Mrs Walker had taken herself off with Roger and Bridget into the hills and valleys on the other side of the lake. Mrs Jackson insisted Titty join herself and Mr Jackson for lunch. In the afternoon she had fallen asleep again over her book, and it made her realize how tired she was. After dinner she went to bed early and slept solidly until her mother woke her for breakfast. So she spent the next day lazing in a deck chair in the field with her mother and Bridget, while Roger sailed Swallow across the Lake to talk engines with the boat builder.

After lunch Mrs Walker, Roger and Bridget sailed off down the lake leaving Titty to her own devices, and to her embarrassment she fell asleep over her book, again. As she entered the dining room for the evening meal she glanced through the window a small car drew up in front of the house. More guests, she assumed, but looked again. She let out a whoop of joy and dashed through the house and out the front door in time to be enveloped in John's hug. Soon her mother, Roger, Bridget and even Mrs Jackson were in the yard all talking at once. Dinner was a bit late, but nobody minded. It was still warm and they went outside, Mrs Walker in the deck chair with her grown up children sitting on the grass around her. 

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" she asked.

John said, "Swallow's in the water, so I'd like to go to Wild Cat Island. It would be just wonderful to spend the day there away from the rest of the world." 

With a large picnic provided by Mrs Jackson, and tea, milk and sugar they set off. John, Titty and Bridget in Swallow, and Roger rowing his mother in the Holly Howe rowing boat. The island was deserted and nobody seemed to have used it for some time. They unearthed the frying pan and kettle and soon had the fire going in Susan's old fire place. The path to the harbour was well overgrown and they cleared it, and at Rogers suggestion put a kink in it at the start so that the path was partially hidden from view. 

While Mrs Walker, Roger and Bridget sailed away up the lake Titty and John went to the look out point and lay there talking. Titty wanted to know how John was getting on. He had never been a great letter writer, finding it hard to express his feelings on paper, but he and Titty had always found it easy to confide in each other. John told his sister that the seniority of some of the people on the course intimidated him, but that he was enjoying himself. He told her he never knew from one day to the next what he would be asked to do, "Which meant," he said, "You could seldom prepare anything and be sure you would use it."

John wanted to know about Nancy and Peggy. Titty told him about her days with Nancy, and how she thought she wanted to finish walking early, probably in order to meet up with her boyfriend. She told him too about Nancy's plans, both for herself and Air Services Ltd, and how frustrated she was becoming at their lack of ambition. 

John said "I think if I had been in that position I would probably have been even more cautious than Pete, and that would not suit Nancy. I really don't remember much about that weekend when I got back to Plymouth, but I thought he was a good sort." 

It wasn't long before they were both asleep, but Titty did not rest for long and sat up on watch. Mrs Walker and her crew returned and Roger took his mother back out, both of them happy to be sailing for a change. In two days time he would sign on in Liverpool and be at sea again. Possibly this would be Roger's last voyage as a stoker, and it might be that the next time he sailed away to sea he would do so as a junior officer. 

Later Roger brought Mrs Walker back, and sailed away again with Bridget, while his mother sat with her middle daughter while John slept on. Mrs Walker too asked Titty about Nancy. Titty told her that on both days of their holiday it was Nancy who had cut the walk short, and Titty thought it was because she had a young man in tow. She told her mother how Nancy was chasing another young man, and used the phrase 'She had not landed him yet'. She repeated at Mrs Walker's request what Nancy had told Titty about her ambitions both for herself and the company. 

Mrs Walker asked her daughter what she thought of them. She had to wait for a reply, and finally Titty said she thought that Nancy was a little carried away. "Mummy, I don't think I really understand the way a business works. I read the papers but they don't make a lot of sense to me. But Air Services is a very small company, and I rather side with this Pete whom I rather admired as someone with common sense. It seems to me they could easily get into debt, and not get out of it." she said. 

Nancy, she told her mother, was cross with Captain Flint because he hadn't left her money straight away in his will. Titty told her mother she knew about it because of the coded message, and that she had a £200 bequest from him. 

It was the first Mrs Walker had heard of either.

She told Titty that Mrs Jackson thought Miss Nancy had "gone wild", and that locally Nancy was not popular because she had left Peggy to do all the work and make all the arrangements for the disposal of the Fram and the funeral. 

Titty told Mrs Walker that she thought Nancy and Peggy had fallen out over the will. "We might know when Peggy comes next weekend," Titty said, "But I think she won't say anything about it." Then she told her mother about Rodney. 

Roger got back, and it was time to wake John up and sail back to Holly Howe for dinner. John suggested he and Titty climb Kanchenjunga the next day, driving into Coniston in his mother's car while Roger checked over John's rattletrap Morris. They took the Walna Scar track and headed up Brown Pike, while Titty heard more about John's course and the arguments that took place between officers. John asked Titty, "How did the Amazons get on with Captain Flint's will?" 

Titty gave him the outline, and mentioned what Nancy had hoped to spend the money on. She added Nancy's comments about her ambitions. 

John commented, "She really is trying to fly high. Where do you think it will all end?"

Titty laughed at him, and John suddenly realised what he had said, and grinned. Titty told him, "Nancy is earning a lot more than me and probably more than you. She spends it too, but underneath I wonder if she's really happy. I think there is something else going on, but I've no idea what."

"Does she go to bed with these chaps?" John asked bluntly.

Titty said, "No, I don't think so. She told me she drew the line at taking her clothes off."

John commented, "That gives her fair amount of licence. I hope she doesn't go too far. I feel sorry for her in a way. I get the impression she is trying to live up to being an Amazon pirate and now we are all growing up it doesn't quite seem to work."

Titty asked him, "Do you think we are still trying to be explorers?"

John thought for a minute and said, "I suppose we are a bit, the same always trying to explore round the next corner. Yes, I think we are, not just looking for new places but new ideas too. Look at what Bridgy's doing. Then here's Roger, always thinking up something with regard engines. It's fun but it doesn't make for an easy life. Susan and Bridgy are the most settled."

Titty was silent and then said, "I'm not sure that I agree with about Susan. Because Neville is always being ill she lives a rather precarious life. Nancy thinks there will never be a war and that we're silly. She is in danger of falling out with those partners, no directors, who seem to think like us. She admires Oswald Moseley and thinks less of the present politicians than we do!" 

Then John turned more serious as he so often did, and said grimly, "What will happen when there is a war? I think she had better change her mind. I think it will begin in about a year or maybe two, and unless we wake our ideas up we shall be in a right mess." He stopped and looked at Titty and said, "What do you think? What do you hear?" 

Titty said, "Not quite the same as you, I expect, but I hear enough to say I agree with you. I guess I hear and see too much." 

John went on to ask, "Are you still working for my bosses? I don't mean just at Shotley."

"Yes," Titty said.

"Do they look after you? I mean, do they do anything to protect you?" John asked.

"Not really. We live on the base of course. At college I've always had the same room which is hard to find, and I think that is why I am allowed to keep it. When I go back to college as a tutor they are going to let me have the same room again. I've grown to love it, even if it isn't very grand." Titty laughed, and went on, "Nancy would be disgusted with me if she knew about it, how small and scruffy it is. I wonder if I'll ever grow up as much as Nancy?"

"You like Nancy?" he said, "No, we Swallows haven't grown up to have her self confidence and push. You'll always be my little pet sister."

They were scrambling down Swirl Howe to Levens Hause when she asked "John, do you ever get bored with the sea?"

John had smiled and said emphatically, "No never. I love it, as much as I ever did. Sometimes it's breathtaking even from the bridge of a warship. Sometimes I wonder what we are doing in it fighting, when it is so beautiful. Then of course at other times it can be scary. In a big storm it tosses a destroyer about as though it was no bigger than Sinbad or Swallow." 

"So are you ever scared, really scared?" Titty asked.

"Of course I am. Any sailor who tells you he's never scared in a storm is either a liar, or worse, a fool." It was said with such scorn and vehemence John surprised even Titty. He went on, "And for good measure I'm scared of this coming war. Far more people than we have any idea are going to die, and life will be made hell for us. Submarines will try and destroy our merchant marine. We shall no doubt use the convoy system but controlling and protecting a convoy in a full blown Atlantic storm is going to be awful. They'll starve us out if they can. They've got the aircraft and they'll try and bomb us to bits, and we them. And don't let anyone con you this war isn't going to last years. It will."

Titty looked up at her elder brother and noted his mouth was a grim line, and he seemed to be looking at some beyond the horizon. Then suddenly John turned to her."Does anything ever happen that scares you?"

Titty had not expected the question; she waited, thought, and then said, "Yes. Sometimes I think I'm followed. Then I didn't like last September when those German girls questioned me, they got quite aggressive, especially when they thought no one else was listening. I wondered if they would attack me, and physically I was thankful Robert was there. Have I ever told you he goes to Germany?"

"No," said John.

"I don't like him going. I'm always glad when he gets back. I'm frightened for him," Titty said. 

By now they were sitting on the rocks on the summit of Wetherlam, and John said, "It's wonderful up here. I love it. It's a wonderful sight for a land starved sailor boy." Suddenly he put his arm round Titty and hugged her. "I wish they took better care of you. From what you say I'm thankful Robert will be around in Lucerne, there needs to be someone there to look after you. When I'm at sea I often think of you slaving away. I really don't know how you do it, I'm sure I couldn't."

Titty said, "How do you know I slave away?"

John said, "Well if you didn't, why did Mummy and Daddy have ask the Admiralty to let up, prior to your exams, and why are you always so busy?"

Titty was surprised she did not know John knew. Then John said, "You were no sooner home from college than those envelopes started again, Mummy told me."

Titty said, "Those translations started again as soon as I had finished my exams, and I now do translation for Captain Flint's publishers as well. They pay me well, and so do the Admiralty now, after the Admiral had a go at them. Mummy made me go and see an accountant and we counted up what I had been paid. It seemed a lot."

"Are you being paid to go to Lucerne?" he asked. 

"They have sent me the sponsorship money for the tickets, and they have told me I won't have to pay for accommodation, but I'm no longer eligible for any of the normal scholarships."

John asked, "Are Lucerne paying you for the lecturing and tutoring?" 

Titty's reply was, "Not as far as I know."

John said sharply, "They ought to, but I know you love going. I hope it works out for you this year." 

They went on in silence for a while, and then Titty said, "The idea of the war frightens me. The translation stuff I do for the Admiralty seems all about the battleships the Germans have got, and the big guns, and how many submarines they are building."

"I know," John said, "We're not ready. I often wonder how it was the politicians made such a mess of Versailles, and then the financial mess that came afterwards. I don't understand finance, it all seems very odd to me, I could not understand why people just behaved on a whim without thinking about it about it at all. Chamberlain and Lord Halifax are convinced that they can avoid war, as it will disturb their plans for the future, Sometimes I think Lord Halifax is positvely keen on Hitler."

"I wonder what will really happen?" said Titty.

When they got back to Holly How Roger handed John his keys and said, "It will go a bit better now, and use less petrol. You've got a good little car, you made a good buy." 

John asked, "When are you going to get one?"

Roger grinned roguishly and said, "I'm not, I'll drive other people's, they give me them to mend. Maybe someone will give me one some day that doesn't work, if they are fed up with it. I'm not going to spend good money buying one." 

They all laughed. Roger never spent much money, but he always seemed to have enough to buy bits when somebody else's car needed new parts, and if a friend could not afford an expensive repair Roger always knew where to find a second hand part. 

The next day the family went sailing in Swallow, stopping off at Wild Cat Island for lunch where Titty and her mother fried their sandwiches in the old pan at lunch time. They had dinner back at the Jackson's and turned in early, for they would have to start way before breakfast to deliver Roger to his ship in Liverpool. It was an old tramp steamer, and would be away for months. All Roger knew was that the first port of call was Sydney, and then probably they would go to South America. He had already been to more countries than John, and he enjoyed being a stoker. He had wheedled his way into the engine rooms of the ships he had sailed in and even made suggestions, some of which had been adapted by the engineers. He had been told when he got back from this voyage there was to be no more being a stoker. 

Early that afternoon Roger went aboard, and the remaining Walkers drove back to Holly Howe - before they had reached it Roger's ship was pulling out of the Mersey. 

On the way home John asked Titty about her running. She told him about running at White City, and what Mr Dow had said to her. In reply to his question, "Well what are you going to do now?" 

Titty said, "Nothing."

John asked, "Are you giving up competitive running for good?"

Titty then said, "No, I shall train with the marines when we're at home. I think I shall join Cambridge Harriers when I go back up to Cambridge, and then think about entering cross country races. I'll see how I get on."

He pressed her, "So you will run competitively?"

But Titty was not to be hurried, "I'll wait to see if I want to. I won't race seriously, unless I think I can do well. I like running, but I'm not sure if it matters that much to me. Mr Dow was quite right when he said that languages are more important to me. Whatever I did now, I'll never be popular with the officials, because I won't do what they want."

It was all news to her mother, but somehow typical of Titty that the first person she told was John. 

Titty had been told that Robert would be arriving that evening, probably very late. But when they got back Mrs Jackson said he had been on the phone to say he should reach Holly Howe just before dinner. Titty had hardly washed when Robert's battered old Riley was pulling into the farmyard. Titty rushed out to him, and was rewarded with a gentle kiss on the cheek. Then came Mrs Walker, Bridget and John. 

Thus Mrs Walker met the man her younger daughter would choose as a mate for the first time. He was taller and broader and far more mature than Mrs Walker had expected. He must be over 6', taller than John, probably taller than Roger. He looked used and older than she had expected, and looked as though he was as tough as her sons except for the hand that shook hers, almost delicate with its long fingers. She approved of him .It sounded as though what her husband had been told about him was right. 

For Robert's part, he had expected Mrs Walker to look distinguished, but he had not expected her to look so young, slim and lithe. He had worked out she must be about the same age at least as his step mother, but she looked at least ten years younger. His step mother wore a lot of make up and always had her hair permed, while Mrs Walker appear to wear little make up, and her hair had not been permed but was as well burnished as her daughter's. Had she really had five children and still managed to look so slim? She reminded him of his sister-in-law, though she must be fifteen years older than Roz, more than that probably. Then there was John, stocky, slightly slow of speech, with his sister's and mother's brown eyes. John was a formidable looking chap but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes suggested he had a sense of humour. 

Titty led Robert into the farmhouse to be given the once over by Mrs Jackson who promptly decided Titty had made a good choice and took him upstairs to show him his room. There, Robert washed and came downstairs to dinner, his first with the Walkers. He noticed they seemed to be treated as an extension of Mrs Jackson's family and hardly like guests at all. There was none of the stuffy formality of meals at home, with the butler standing attentively at his father's side. Even David and Roz had servants, but here Titty and her mother seemed to help Mrs Jackson fetch and carry the plates and dishes. Mrs Walker seemed to understand his surprise and said quietly, "You must remember we've stayed with Mr and Mrs Jackson often, and we all feel very much at home here."

Conversation at the table ranged from jests about Roger and his stoker's role, to their attitude to cars, and from the differences in navigation at sea and in the mountains to the King's problems with Mrs Simpson. John suggested, "Tomorrow we could take Robert to Wild Cat Island, and it might help him to understand how crazy we are."

Titty smiled, she knew that John had decided Robert was all right, otherwise he would not have suggested it. For John, perhaps even more than Nancy and Peggy, Wild Cat Island was a special place. 

John went on, "It's a good job Roger's not here, he'd have your car in pieces by now like he had mine. Gosh, I have to admit there is no engineering job he won't tackle. I am willing to bet he's terrorising the ship's engineers." 

Bridget said, "At least Rogie can play a musical instrument. Which is more than can be said for present company!"

John said, "You don't know, Robert might play?" and looked at Robert hoping he would be able to say yes.

"I play the piano a bit, but not very well." Robert admitted. 

Before the evening was out they had decided, even Bridget, that the 'not very well' was a relative statement. After dinner, they took Robert down to the boathouse to show him Swallow. Mrs Walker, John and at their insistence Bridget walked back up to the farm, leaving Titty and Robert to sit on the landing stage and talk. There was a gentle breeze wafting up the lake and the sun was setting in a beautifully calm evening. Sitting there chatting, Titty told Robert of former holidays here and on Wild Cat Island and Swallowdale, and how whenever there was problems the local people seemed to combine to help. 

Robert began to understand what her holidays might have been like, and how his own holidays were a stark contrast. Even this evening he seemed to have been absorbed almost seamlessly into her family in a way he could hardly understand. When they returned, he delighted Bridget by playing the Jackson's old piano. 

Robert woke with a sense that he had passed the first test. 

For the Walkers it was a familiar business to ready themselves for a day on Wild Cat Island, and John and Titty sailed with Robert in Swallow, while Mrs Walker and Bridget took the Jackson's rowing boat and the picnic. When Robert looked back, the rowing boat was moving quickly through the water as Mrs Walker was rowing very well. Again, he was struck with the contrast with his step mother. He doubted if she could row at all, and commented, "Your mother does know how to row."

John said, "Can't she just, better than any of us. She can sail too, Swallow isn't the easiest boat to handle but she sets us all a standard."

Robert had no experience, but even so it was evident that John and Titty hardly needed to speak to one another handling this little boat. Their skill was given emphasis when they swept past another dinghy being sailed by two young men. Then they were slowing and turning into a little bay in the shore of an island. Titty said, "Welcome to Wild Cat Island." 

They stepped ashore, and Titty hauled Swallow up the little bank before they walked into their old camp site. John said, "I'll light the fire and put the kettle on. You go to the look out point, and see how Mummy's getting on, I expect she's nearly here." 

Robert and Titty walked to the look out point as Mrs Walker rowed past, and Titty said, "We'll go and help Mummy carry the food up to camp. As usual Mrs Jackson has prepared more than enough, but I expect we'll be hungry by dinner time." 

By the time they had carried the picnic to the fire the kettle was singing, and they were soon drinking tea and tucking into Mrs Jackson's home made biscuits. John suggested his mother and Titty should take Swallow out on the Lake and give Robert his first sailing lesson, while he and Bridget went for a row to Rio where he would treat her to an ice cream. It was a good plan, and Robert was soon getting his first sailing lesson. By dinner time he had learned the basics. His two tutors were quite pleased with him, though like all beginners he gripped the tiller too hard.

They fried the sandwiches, piled some scrambled egg on top, and served dinner with more tea. The wind had freshened and John and Titty took Robert for a brisk sail to the southern end of the lake and then followed the shoreline and the wooded eastern shore back, landing once or twice to show Robert some features of their holidays. They arrived back at Wild Cat Island in time for cake and tea before Titty rowed Robert back to Holly How while John and his Mother were sailed back by Bridget. 

Robert asked, "Do you always swop and change who sails and rows like you have today?" 

Titty grinned at him, "Yes, this is how it always is, especially when John is with us. He is always trying to improve us all, except Mummy is so good she can always come up with suggestions. She and Daddy used to race before John and Susan were born, and Daddy was posted back to Britain. Daddy is the same as Mummy and John. I'll never sail as well as John."

Robert thought whatever a holiday with the Walkers was, it was nothing like any holiday he'd had before. The day he had just spent and the day he seemed likely to have tomorrow bore no relation to formal affairs of his youth.

Robert asked, "Will we be back here tomorrow?"

"No, John wants to climb Sca Fell, but Mummy and Bridget will probably stay at home because Bridget has got some practising to do."

That morning, they used John's little Austin 7 to drive round to the Dungeon Gill. It would be John's last long walk until his next stint at sea was finished. He was newly second in command of an old corvette, and he was posted first to the west coast of Africa. So he had every intention making a long day of it, and he was confident that Titty and Robert were more than capable of the walk. John never walked particularly fast but, despite spending long periods at sea, he could walk all day. They started off up the band and over Bow Fell and on to Esk Hause where they stopped for ten minutes or so, and then continued on to Scafell Pike where they stopped rather longer for an early lunch. Unusually, they had the summit to themselves. They sat there for a while. To the east were the big buttresses of Sca Fell and further off Slight Side. To the north stretched an endless panorama of hills, the greys and blues, darkness and light an endlessly variable scene as white clouds chased each other timelessly across the blue sky. 

John said to no-one in particular, "If I ever gave up the navy, I'd live up here it is always. No two days are alike - indeed some days it changes minute by minute." 

Neither of them disagreed. On that walk, away from other ears, Robert got John to talk about his views about submarine warfare, and found that John made two fundamental points. One was that the navy had no effective means of accurately locating submarines when they were submerged. He talked about the various means of detection were, and how inaccurate and hit and miss it all was. "There are radar developments," John said, "But we need to spend money on reasearch, and the Admiralty won't do it." He added, "Submarines are improving all the time, and they will be a dangerous threat to merchant shipping."

"Merchant shipping?" asked Robert.

Titty winced and said, "Rogie"

John looked sad. He said, "I do not really understand economics, but we are dependent on imports to feed ourselves, and if we were to go to war no doubt arms. At least partially because we are not readying ourselves. So the Germans and the Japanese will attack merchant ships, and realistically we possess few defences. Our technology is so rudimentary as to be nearly useless." John had much more to say when Robert and Titty questioned him. He told them he had been told, though the orders had not been confirmed, that after returning from West Africa they would sail straight into the Atlantic for exercises there, training to seek out submarines. 

He said rather grimly, "I think we're going to find out just how bad at it we are, too late."

"Won't the Germans respect merchant ships? The crews cannot be regarded as combatants." Titty asked.

John told them, "Not they, and nor will we either. When it comes to being inhuman, we're as bad as they are." 

When Titty asked about surface ships, John told her, "What the Germans have are at least as good as ours if not better. There will be no big set piece battles, but lots of smaller engagements. The trouble is that surface ships are very vulnerable to air attack and there are too many naval officers who don't believe aircraft are a danger to shipping. Bombing is not that accurate yet, but it is improving all the time. And the Germans will use surface ships against merchant and commercial shipping, just as navys have for centuries." He turned to Titty and said with feeling, "I'm sorry, but I think Nancy's belief there will be no war is dangerous hogwash. Unless she changes her mind she'll be finding her mind changed for her." John went on reflectively, "Our merchant marine, and maybe Roger as well, are in for a rotten time. I'm pretty sure Rogie will survive, though - it will take more the German navy to sink him!" 

Titty was very surprised at how passionate John was. It was, she thought, probably unlike him. Especially when he had only known Robert a short while, but somehow it did not seem as though Robert was a stranger at all. 

Robert, listening to what John was saying, was wondering what kind of person John really was. Titty had always emphasized he was reserved and self-contained, yet here John was being very blunt and outspoken. He wondered what men who served under him made of the man. John seemed, and indeed looked tough, disciplined and was obviously committed; Robert could imagine him to be a disciplinarian. Yet John had obviously thought through problems and, Robert thought, was unlikely to always to say 'yes sir' to whatever his seniors might say to him.

When Titty went to the loo behind a rock John turned to Robert and said simply, "Look after my sister, she's the best, and I love her. I'm always thinking of her when I'm at sea."

No more was said as Titty came back, but Robert was moved. After that John stopped talking about the war but asked Robert about Scotland, especially about the far north west. He said, "We've done exercises up there, I've always wondered what it was like. We've landed once or twice in training, but I've never managed to get very far inland. Once or twice we've bivouacked on the shore and it's been wonderful. But crumbs, navigation has to be spot on."

They used the corridor route and climbed Great Gable, then went back down from Windy Gap to Sprinkling Tarn and back across to Esk Hause. There was no one in Mickleden and they walked in silence, reluctant to break into the windless peace. 

By the time they got back to the farm, even Robert and Titty were tired. Mrs Jackson had somehow guessed they'd be hungry, and they were. 

In the morning John drove away. Titty took Robert sailing, and he asked her if he had passed muster with her brother. She said quietly and rather sadly, "Yes, otherwise he wouldn't have talked so freely. I've never heard him talk like that except when we've been together as a family, and no one else has been there. John never tells you how he feels, you have to work that out from the way he behaves. For example, he would never have said all that if Nancy had been there, despite the fact we've been friends a long time."

Robert himself had to go back the next day, but in the evening Peggy came. She would stay a couple of days with the Walker family at the Jackson's. They spent one day on the Coniston Fells, and then next day they sailed Peggy across to Rio in Swallow and she borrowed Amazon back from the boat builder. After dinner, Mrs Walker and Titty drove Peggy back to Kendal. 

While they were sailing Amazon Peggy told Titty she and Nancy had fallen out over Captain Flint's will. Titty told her more about Robert and some of the things they did together - and Peggy told her how busy they were at work, about running and Rodney's cricket. Peggy and Rodney were now engaged, and she showed off her ring. 

It was amazing to Titty just how different Nancy and Peggy had become. She was still puzzled over the way they had fallen out with their mother. Her relationship with her mother was so easy, and when she had a problem she always had been able to go to her and pour out her troubles. What would life be like if there was no mother to whom to tell your troubles? 

And Nancy and Peggy had no Daddy to whom to talk. 

After Peggy had left the Walkers were left to themselves, and Titty climbed Kanchenjunga with her mother and Bridget, and Wetherlam another day. 

They went back to Shotley on Saturday, with Titty sharing the driving with her mother. There were four weeks before she was due to go to Lucerne. She trained with the marines, did her preparation for Lucerne and completed more translating for the Base Commander. She even went back to mother's dress maker and ordered some clothes for Lucerne, conscious she would no longer be just a student. She still found clothes difficult, and almost left it to her mother's dressmaker to decide what she should have. The dressmaker always made clothes that were easy to wear and made her look good. Feeling more confident with herself, she made a late entry to a three mile race at Colchester, came fifth, and was pleased with that result. 

Two days before she was to due to leave the Base Commander phoned her up and asked her to come and see him. 

Bob had known he would have to talk to Titty for some days, and he had been putting it off. He didn't really fancy telling his friend's independently minded daughter what the navy had arranged. But his instructions were clear, and he had no choice. 

He began, "Titty, you must know that because of the translation work you do for us here, and the work the Admiralty send you, you walk around with lots of information that some people would love to know. Last year I'm told some German girls quizzed you about what you knew and they got no where. The Admiralty have got worried about it. When you're in Lucerne, I think Robert will be there most of the time this year. But you will be travelling there alone?"

"Yes," said Titty, puzzled. " Mummy is going to see me on the train and then I'll be alone until I reach the college." 

Bob said, "My bosses don't like it."

Titty looked at him and said, "I hoped that because I'm anonymous looking no-one would bother with me." 

She was right, of course she was just another pretty young lady, Bob thought. It was only when one took a second or even a third look that it became clear she wasn't just a pretty face. 

Titty asked anxiously, "Am I not going to be allowed to go?" and there was real anxiety in her voice. "I did so want to go."

"No, Titty. Not even the Admiralty would not stop you going to Lucerne. No. But they have arranged a minder to go with you. I understand he is to meet you at Waterloo, he's a diplomat bound for Zurich and you'll be with him all the way. He'll see you safely to the college. I am afraid I know nothing about him. My instructions are that he'll be at the exit from the tube station, and will carry a Manchester Guardian folded to show the headlines. He'll be carrying a brief case and a blue suit case will be at his feet."

Titty said, "It seems an awful fuss to be made about someone as unimportant as me, but I do understand."

Bob went on, "There is something else you need to know. You were expecting to meet Robert straight away. Something has gone wrong in Germany and he may be late, even two or three days late."

Titty thought to herself, they seem to know a lot about Robert and me. She asked, "Last year we went for walks on both Saturdays. Can we still do that?" 

Bob actually had no idea, but he had no intention of spoiling her visit and said, "Robert will be there, and you can certainly go walking. I'd want to if I was there." He would say nothing about that to the Admiralty. 

"Is that all?" Titty asked.

"Yes," Bob said. 

"May I go?"

"Yes, Titty, have a lovely time." 

As she left Bob watched her from the window. His secretary came in and stood beside him. 

She said, "She looks very small to be going all that way alone."

He said, "She's not going alone, they're sending her with a minder. If I'd known what I was letting her in for when she first did translation for me I'd have never asked her to do it. She hasn't had a chance to be an ordinary student at all. I wouldn't like my kids to be about the world knowing what she knows." 

When Titty and Mrs Walker came out of the tube station they looked cautiously around. There was a gentleman there, but they weren't sure if his newspaper was the Manchester Guardian. But they had stood near him, and he moved to show the headlines; he was carrying a briefcase and there was a blue case at his feet.

Mr Bonner was not best pleased to be landed the job of chaperon. He had reading to catch up on, and he supposed he would be expected to talk his way through to Switzerland. His political masters hadn't given him much to go on, just saying that the girl was small, smaller anyway than her mother, who was Dow had said, 'patrician'. He'd know the girl, she had hair. 'Had hair,' he thought crossly, 'All young women had hair.' He had also been told she would almost certainly be wearing a rucksack. But when the girl emerged from the subway he knew her and her mother immediately.The older woman did look distinguished, and the young woman was wearing a rucksack, a well used one, and her hair had been brushed till is shone and cascaded over her left shoulder. He moved his newspaper self-consciously, and they moved towards him. 

The older woman asked, "Is it, Mr Bonner?"

"It is," he said, "And is this my charge? Titty Walker, Miss Walker, is it?"

"Yes, Mr Bonner," the girl said, and proffered her hand.

It was small, but her hand was rough skinned and closed round his like a vice. The strength of that grasp caught him out. 

Introductions complete, they went to find their carriage, and Titty waved good bye to her mother. She hung out of the door to wave, and then came and sat down. They chatted inconsequentially for a few minutes, before Titty said shyly, "Do you mind if I read?"

Inwardly Mr Bonner sighed with relief. At least he, it seemed, would not be expected to make small talk all the way to Switzerland. He presumed Miss Walker would produce a light novel, but after a while he decided 'read' was a misnomer. For his charge had produced several pencils, a pad, a book, and what appeared to be a study manual. Both books looked as though they were in French. As they chuffed along she worked reading, and then writing. Fascinated, he glanced up surreptitiously, but her concentration was absolute. 

When the waiter came round with coffee, she had it black as he did himself. It grew cold before she had finished it. She had a second cup, which also grew cold before it was finished. The train reached Dover and they had to board the ferry where he expected Titty would make for the lounge, but she had looked up and asked, "Can we stay on deck?" 

Mr Bonner was surprised, as it was quite choppy as they drew out of Dover. A small cruiser was battling against the wind, and his charge watched it keenly. He said tentatively, "You don't sail, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Titty said.

The comment broke the ice. Suddenly they had a topic of conversation, and he used it. She not only sailed, but walked, climbed and ran. Suddenly he knew who she was. Miss Walker was the young girl who had pulled her companion, a man twice as big as herself, off a climb in Scotland. He'd read the story in a newspaper and was about to mention it when he thought better of the idea and decided he'd keep it to himself. Miss Walker did not seem the kind of person whom it did to pry into her affairs. 

Over dinner he learned she was going to language school in Lausanne to act as lecturer and tutor, as well as doing an advanced course in French literature. He had to squeeze out of her that she just obtained a first, and would be returning to Cambridge as a junior member of the teaching staff. It had taken a while, but when Miss Walker had overcome her shyness, she had become an interesting travelling companion. 

When Mr Bonner finally reached Zurich he was met by a friend who at once commiserated with him on being required to act as chaperon. Mr Bonner regarded him quizzically for a minute, and said, "On the contrary. I thoroughly enjoyed the company. In fact you'll be envious, do you remember the story of the young lass of Buchaille Etive Mor?"

His friend snorted, and said, "Of course I do, all Scotland did." 

"Well. I've just spent the last two days with the heroine of that story. Not only that, but she was such a modest young person I declined to tell her I knew who she was. I also happen to know she's the current English university cross country champion."

"Then I retract my commiserations altogether." He raised an eyebrow, "Decorative?"

Mr Bonner said, "Certainly, but I understand she is booked."

He had taken Miss Walker to the door of the college and seen her inside. She had thanked him. and as he turned to give him a wave. He noted she was welcomed with enthusiasm by a handsome Frenchman, who greeted her enthusiastically in French. His charge was evidently popular, and well taken care of: a porter had been commandeered to take her luggage to her room. As Mr Bonner left he heard the Frenchman say, "We've allocated you your favourite room, and you are to come to the lecturers' lounge as soon as you're ready. There is coffee and pastries." 

Titty did, slipping into the room through a half open door, hopeful of making herself as inconspicuous as possible. But she was no sooner in the common room when she was dragged across the room by her Frenchman, and caught up in conversation. Everyone welcomed her, almost as an honoured guest. So effusive was her welcome Titty was embarrassed. There was on one downer, for half-way through the evening meal she was passed a message to say Robert would be late, very late. 

Indeed he was. And when he came she was not reassured. They ate together, but he was sporting a padded dressing over his left eye and his left arm was heavily bandaged. All he would say was, "There was an incident in Germany." 

It was as though he had been involved in a barroom brawl. Titty doubted that. 

When their meal ended Robert told her he would see her about seven in the dining room the next evening, as he was now hoping to get his head down on a pillow to catch up lost sleep. 

Titty's first tutorials got underway at 10 the following morning, and she was quite open with the students about her inexperience. There were only four of them, and they had a complex passage to discuss which lasted until just before lunch. Titty joined the lecturers' table when she went down to lunch, and enjoyed the demanding intellectual exchanges. The tradition at the language school was that lecturers met together over the midday meal, and were then free to do as they wished in the evening. Some met in the dining room, while others went into Lausanne to eat. 

Even when Titty and Robert met that following evening in the dining room, he still looked dreadfully tired, but a little better than yesterday, although the patch above his eyebrow appeared starker. But Robert refused to tell Titty the story or talk about it while they were eating in case he was overheard. But it was pleasant to eat together at a corner of the dining room. After the meal, they took their coffee onto the terrace. Only one other group had taken their coffee there and they were grouped at the entrance, a noisy talkative group of students. 

Titty and Robert carried their coffee to a corner, and sat silent for a short time enjoying the view of the mountains. Robert said softly, "I have been in Germany for the best part of three weeks, at a hospital, working with some surgeons whose skills are far beyond mine. It was grand, and I am coming back far more skilled than I went." He smiled, and went on, "But that isn't what you've come out here to hear, though it is far more important than the other. You should know that the meantime I had been collecting information about what was going on. Someone talked somewhere along the line, and I was warned I needed to make a run for it. I had to set out immediately, and things got a little ropey. 

"They got uncomfortably close, and near Brenner they got several shots at me. My companion managed to mop me up, and we made a break for the mountains. We scrambled over a pass and back into a little town on the border. There we stole a Mercedes, and I dropped him off where he could get home, while I took the car on a little known road that crossed the border where I knew there was no guard post. It was all rather more exciting than is comfortable. I left the car partially hidden on a mountain road, and then managed to walk out. I did fall, and I've broken a bone in my wrist."

Titty wanted to fling her arms round him and hug him to herself to keep him safe, and she couldn't. She said as calmly as she could, "I hope that you are not going back to Germany soon." She gripped Robert's hand tightly as though that could protect him.

He looked at her soberly and said quietly, "I think my days of visiting Germany are over for good, and I regret it, because I will loose some very good friends who are not aligned with the current political scene. I am now trying to find out if they have been implicated, and I need to ensure my property left in Germany is destroyed. And tomorrow," Robert said, smiling a little, "I shall have to go into Lausanne to buy some clothes, since I only have what I stand up in except for a borrowed shirt. I've had a narrow escape, my dear."

Titty asked, "Where will it all end?"

Robert said, "I've really no idea. The most important thing right now is to discover if my spying activity has implicated my medical friends. There must be no link between Herr Gunter and Dr McCulloch. But I'm ready for bed again, and I'll see you here tomorrow about this time." 

Robert had to wait till Thursday before he was assured his espionage activities had not implicated his medical friends and they had found means of safely destroying his possessions, including his papers, wallet and passport. It had even been established that the Mercedes had been recovered, and for safety that too had been destroyed. He had visited Zurich and the British embassy, and now had a new passport. 

Titty noted that having learned all that, Robert relaxed, and was able to enjoy his medical language exchanges. Meanwhile a lecturer had fallen sick, Titty's duties were expanded, and she had far more preparation to do. It was as well since it gave her less time to worry about Robert. He looked less tired and more himself. With the safety of his German friends assured, he was anxious that Titty's additional duties would not mean they couldn't spend Saturday together in the Swiss countryside. 

That evening he asked her, "What have you been up to since your holiday in the Lake District?"

Titty was able to tell she had trained with the marines, come fifth in a race, helped her mother, prepared for Lausanne and done some sailing. Robert, interested after their days in the Lake District, asked "What sailing?"

"Mummy and I raced a borrowed Wayfarer," Titty said, "And there was some racing from the base. Mummy helmed in the first race and we came second, so that made them mad to be beaten by a grandmother." 

Robert laughed and asked, "And the other race?"

Titty wished she hadn't given the impression there was more than one race, but she said, "We did quite well."

Robert wasn't fooled, "How well, and who was helming?"

Titty's mouth tightened. He had seen through her.

She blushed, "We won. I helmed, and you might as well know we won a third race and won a little cup."

Robert smiled broadly and said, "Bravo, well done! What did the men have to say about that?"

"They weren't all pleased," Titty told him, refraining from telling him that the win had been very popular.

She said suddenly, "I feel much safer now you're here than I did before, you make me feel safe." 

Robert noticed that that her hanky was being twisted and turned in her hands. 

Titty went on, "I'm scared of Hans. He is taking to much interest in me."

Titty, lecturing in a building beyond the house, had been returning along a corridor when she came face to face with Hans, one of the German students. He stopped her, and said angrily, "You've been holding out on me all the week now its my turn, you'll pay for it now." He raised his arms. 

Robert, who had by chance had followed Titty into the corridor, broke into a run; a lecturer approaching from the opposite direction did the same. Afterwards neither could say exactly what happened, but by the time they reached him the young man was on the floor holding his arm. Titty was walking, rather quickly but unconcernedly towards the main building. As he passed, the lecturer said, "Run," and she did. 

Robert and the lecturer came up with the younger Hans, helped him up, and saw he was holding his arm. They took him to the nurse who found his arm to be broken. Robert stayed with Hans and the lecturer went off to find the principal. The upshot of that exchange was that Hans was escorted to the border by the police with his belongings, less certain papers that showed him to be anything but a bona fide student. 

The lecturer said to Robert with a twinkle in his eye, "I think that young man will not meddle with young English girls again. Did you see what happened?"

Robert grinned, "Not me, she's far too fast for me."

Titty was waiting for him on the wall on Saturday in her old shorts and worn blouse when he came out with his lunch. They went off together. The Principal had come out to enjoy a pipe and a chat with the Frenchman. Together, they watched Robert and Titty cross the manicured lawn and go through a little gate to a track that led to the footpaths beyond the college. The Principal removed his pipe to remark, "If it's like last year, by the time they get back they'll have covered over 25 kilometres or more."

"Is he courting her or not?" asked the Frenchman.

"I've really no idea or whether they are just very good friends or more. But I hope it's more, they're very well suited. But people would be advised not to tamper with either of them." It was a comment accompanied by a telling look.

Clear of the college Robert asked Titty about her family. She was able to tell him that Roger had set out on what would probably be his last voyage as a stoker. In reply to Robert's question about what he would then do, then Titty said that he would move to an engineering officers' training scheme. She said, "I don't think he'll ever be any different. He'll make a success of anything to do with engineering. He has just has a cheerful and uncomplicated way of enjoying life."

Robert asked, "What did your father say, when Roger said he was joining the merchant marine?"

Her reply was surprising. She said, "Daddy did not mind. Roger has always done his own thing it's just the way he is. Mummy and Daddy used to worry because he never worked hard. But once the school set up a technical course all that changed, and he buckled to and showed us all just what he could do if he set his mind to it." 

The path wandered up and down, and they were stopping from time to time to look at rocks and flowers.

"Bridget," Titty said, "Has concerts booked up until the middle of next year. And is enjoying life so long as there is a musical instrument available to be played."

"And what about John?" Robert asked. 

Titty had just had a letter from John to say that he had been transferred to a destroyer and would probably be in the South Atlantic now, somewhere off the coast of South America. She added sadly, "They always seem to keep him at sea longer than anyone else. I worry about him far more than Roger. Behind the façade of confidence, John worries that he is not coming up to scratch. That isn't what anyone else thinks as far as I know." 

Robert could have said, like you, but he did not.

They found a comfortable rock just off the path to rest their backs on while they had their lunch. Titty slipped down and lay looking up at the sky, and said, "This is a lovely day. I love it here with you." Out of the blue she added, "Oh Robert, I can't do without you, you are my rock." 

Robert was silent for a minute and said, "I've something important to tell you." 

Titty waited.

"My divorce has come through at last, so that grubby little man doesn't follow me round anymore."

Titty said softly, "I love you." 

Robert bent over her and kissed her lightly on the nose. He was about to move away when she grasped him round the neck, pulled him down onto her lips and kissed him long and hard. 

When Robert was finally allowed up he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Titty pulled him down for another kiss. When it ended she sat up and said, "That's my answer to you, Dr Robert McCulloch. Your freedom was short lived. Now you're mine."

They walked on hand in hand, until they reached the college grounds. They had got back in time for tea and cakes late in the afternoon. Tomorrow would be another hard working day for both of them, but life would never be quite the same again. After tea, they agreed to meet in the dining room, and later they both went to their respective bedrooms. 

When Robert reached his room he drew breath and thought, 'Had I believed that would happen today, I might have treated the whole thing with greater seriousness.' He just had not imagined in his wildest dreams that ihis dearest wish could have happened that way. 

His second thought was I was once a married man, I am supposed to be the experienced one, but I was never kissed with so fiercely or with such passion. Suddenly Robert broke into a chuckle. Only yesterday he had heard one of the students say, "When you've had a tutorial with that new young tutor you feel as though you've had a few rounds with Joe Louis, but at least it's been worth coming." 

'Well,' thought Robert, 'I'm committed now. There is no going back.'

Titty reached her room in some confusion. Had she gone too far? Would he think better of it? Did I really behave like that? And then, he'll have to have me, as I am not some smart thing. But he is now mine, Titty thought fiercely, 'And I am the happiest person in the world, and I fully intend he should be as well, and I want no more of this German nonsense." 

For the rest of the fortnight woe betide any student who had not made the effort to prepare for Titty's tutorials, or for any who did not attend at her lectures. She and Robert sat together every evening for dinner, and it was noted that she seemed to step lightly while her eyes sparkled with mischief. But the story about the German Hans being put flat on the floor was doing the rounds, with a few colourful embellishments. Word in the school was, don't mess with Miss Walker, you'll come off worst. 

But whereas Titty was happy, and much as she looked forward to every evening, she was plagued with doubts about her teaching. She was uncertain whether she was doing the right thing, or meeting what was needed and expected by the school. She did her very best, but sometimes she was unsure if they were happy with what she did. Did the Principal and his board of governors refrain from criticism because of the incident with Hans? 

Well into the second week Titty decided she would just have to plough on and do her very best. She put in hours of effort, and by Friday she treated the evening meals as a solace, a short break from the relentless pressure. She felt she just had to do as well as she possibly could. Sometimes in front of the students she felt terribly uncertain of herself, though her fears did not show, and had the students had known they would have been astounded. You prepared yourself for Miss Walker's tutorials conscientiously, not least because what you said and what you had written was read - as one student said to his fellows 'with decent consideration'. Besides, it was apparent to them that Miss Walker worked hard, which could not be said for all their tutors who seemed to regard the language school as something of a holiday.

When it came around to the second Saturday Titty and Robert's departure for their walk was observed by a number of people, and the distance they walked had become something of a legend. since a student with a car had reported seeing them miles from the college. "If they're courting," one student remarked, "They couldn't be stopping long anywhere." 

Indeed they were again spied on a footpath high above a village. And it was noted that they were seen digging hungrily into a teacake and a pastry in the dining room just after 5.

In fact, Titty and Robert spent much of their walk discussing Titty's doubts and concerns. As they agreed neither of them was in a position to demand an explanation, and they decided she should just continue to do the best she could. Titty said somewhat sadly, "I must just hope it was sufficient. I was so determined to do well. I love it here and would so like to come again next year if there is no war." 

Robert's fingers had tightened on hers and a shadow fell. Titty said, "Sometimes it would so much more comfortable to be like my friend Nancy and think that the talk of war is silly. But neither of us does, so that's it." 

Robert kissed her gently and she felt a little reassured. "If there is a war, both Daddy and John will be in the thick of it, for sure. And you." 

Robert could only nod.

Later they found a spot for lunch hidden from the path and Titty kissed Robert with such fierce passion it took his breath away. It was such a contrast to the way his former wife had behaved, although she had certainly been more experienced, and far more knowing. Robert could hardly understand the difference. Yet Titty, though obviously far less experienced and even innocent, roused him in a way he acknowledged he had never been previously. He forgot his questions and kissed her back.

In the third week of the course, like the previous two Titty was kept busy preparing for lectures, tutorials and also an essay for her English tutor. There was no essay competition for her to enter this year because of her status as a member staff. No one told her whether she was doing well or badly, nor had there been any mention of what or when she would be paid. The only breaks she had were the evening meal in the dining room with Robert, where they made a corner of the dining room their home and inexplicably were left largely to themselves. Lectures and tutorials seldom finished until nearly seven. Most lecturers and tutors went straight to the dining room. Titty found it essential to return to her room and make notes about students' participation, so it was often after eight before she met with Robert for their meal. 

Their talk was largely about their lives before they met. Titty learned more about Robert's somewhat lonely life, when with just perhaps one or two of his friends he would roam the remoter highlands. She heard more about his close relationship with his elder brother and his wife Roz. It was evident to Titty that there were similarities between them in that they both adored their brothers, though of course in Robert's case this adoration extended to his brother's feisty wife. Similarities ended there, for Robert was bitterly estranged from his father even though for appearances sake he still went home from time to time. In contrast Titty adored her father and knew she was loved back. 

Her own life was calm and ordered by comparison, for her mother had always been there for her, no question was too trivial or too awkward for her. Titty told Robert of her happy, busy life at whatever base the Admiralty chose to station her father. The older Walkers had decided that when Commander Walker was posted abroad they would base themselves in Britain. Family life revolved around the expectations of their parents, that their children should work and play hard at school. In the holidays they would walk and sail, either in the Lake District or Wales, with occasional excursions elsewhere. Titty told Robert of their happy holidays staying at the Jackson's and another remote farmhouse some miles east of Porthmadoc. 

Unknown to Titty, Robert had a debriefing with an official who came to Lausanne for the purpose. They agreed together that his days of going to Germany were over for ever - it was just too dangerous. The Foreign Office had had a low level protest that a British person, unknown, had been involved in illegal activities of an unspecified nature and was believed to have stolen a valuable car, but that the suspect had eluded capture. 

The Foreign Office had reported back to the German officials that they had failed to identify the person concerned, which was technically true. But in Robert's debriefing he talked over the details of what he had learned. Officially he had passed through a passport control on Saturday afternoon. Luckily, the Foreign Office was now absolutely certain that no connection had been made between Dr Robert McCulloch, and a suspect believed to have spied on the authorities who had been labelled a criminal. The German authorities had never really bottomed what the information Robert had brought back was. 

At the end of the meeting, Robert said rather shyly, "I suppose I ought to tell you that I've fallen for my charge, hook line and sinker."

He was asked, "Does she know, you crusty old bugger?"

Robert admitted, "Yes, she does now."

The response surprised him, "Thank God for that, at last, you've taken your time. You realize that you are regarded as the luckiest man this side of the border. Congratulations to you both. I am personally delighted. But I hope that you have a strong constitution, you'll need it, good things come in fierce parcels in this case."

Robert smiled and said, "Thank you." He gave an account of the young German's attack upon Titty. 

To this the Foreign Office official had said. "You see what I mean."

With Hans under suspicion, Robert was to take information back to the Principal and the French Lecturer at Lucerne. He arranged a meeting with the men as soon as he got back. The Principal went over all that happened, and all the evidence that a search of his rooms had revealed. It showed the extent of young Han's espionage duties. The Principal said, "Unquestionably Miss Walker was the target again. I'll really have to introduce a means of vetting students' academic background, and interests rather than relying upon recommendations. This is the second year running she has been a target while here. What does she get up to back in England, to be so much in the firing line?" 

Robert said nothing, for he did not really know anyway. 

The French lecturer said, "I seem to recall Miss Walker has links with government." He paused, and added, "By the way, you should get the photographer in and use her in a publicity shoot, you'll have men from five continents swarming round the place."

The Principal looked at Robert, grinned and said, "You know she's booked."

The Frenchman was quick, he said, "I do, you're a lucky man, Master Robert, and a brave one. I gather the students are half scared of and half in love with Miss Walker. One chap was telling me her tutorials were the most demanding he'd ever attended."

The Principal said, "Yes, I took a gamble on Miss Walker and it worked." 

That was as close as Robert got to hearing a view on Titty's work, while she herself heard nothing. 

At the Friday dance Titty was in demand from more people than Robert, including the Principal. While dancing with her he said, "You will note in your diary these weeks for next year, won't you, my dear?" 

The dance ended at midnight as most of the students were leaving early next day, travelling to all parts of Europe. Titty and Robert were on the London train before six, and Titty fell asleep in nestled into the crook of Robert's arm. She had worked hard for three weeks, and now had a fortnight plus a few days to relax before she returned to Cambridge. 

Robert was bound for Scotland to catch up on his duties at the hospital. 

They had a late breakfast on the train and whiled away the journey reading and talking. Mr Bonner had been very pleasant, Titty thought happily, but he was nowhere near as good as Robert.

Robert's last words to her were, "I'll let you know when I can make an excuse to come to Addenbrooks." 

Titty hugged him, and they kissed and parted. 

This time on her return Mrs Walker was waiting at the Ipswich station when the train pulled in. The interlude between coming home and returning to college proved busy, but on Friday on the doorstep there was a thick envelope with a Swiss post mark. In it there was a letter from the Principal at Lucerne outlining what a success she had been, and saying she must come and join them next year. With the letter was a cheque for far more than Titty could have envisaged.


	19. Nancy's Year with and without Bernard

In one way Nancy felt everything was going well. She had a job she enjoyed and she loved flying. She was regarded as a star on the hockey pitch, and in the summer on the tennis courts. She had hooked Bernard and was enjoying her off duty time in his arms and on his lap. She was earning excellent money, far more than most of her contemporaries, and certainly more than her friends the Swallows and Peggy. But they had pedestrian jobs in unexciting fields, even John. And Titty, for all her unquestioned intelligence, Nancy thought was far from earning any decent money. She was sure she herself was enjoying a far more vigorous social life than any of them - if they did but know the life she was leading! What could go or might be wrong she did not know, yet she was dissatisfied. 

At Christmas or, at least immediately after it, she had fully expected Bernard to formalize his relationship with her. She'd expected to ask her to marry him and suggest they bought a ring. But the expected proposal did not happen. It was intolerable that she had not been invited to spend Christmas with his family. This was particularly galling, as she discovered quite by chance that Peggy had done just that. What was he doing?

Part of her irritation was the fact that she had failed to achieve any progress in her efforts to gain her rights, as she saw it, over her inheritance from Captain Flint. That money was rightfully hers, and to have these conditions imposed was grossly unfair. The fact that Titty had been given money irritated her. In this, Peggy had been no help whatsoever, and the shortfall was now a substantial cause of Nancy's annoyance. It restricted her influence in what Air Services Limited did, and meant she was not able to buy the little sports car she had set her heart on.

So what was wrong? The root of the trouble was that Air Services Limited was not meeting her aspirations. She was hugely ambitious for the company, and believed that Pete and Mr Hughes were restricting the development of the company because they were so averse to loans and risk. They would not borrow a penny piece. If only they would borrow from a bank or other loan company, they could buy more aircraft and expand the business. Nancy had even tried to get Pete to talk to the broker who had arranged her loan, but he had turned the opportunity down flat saying with considerable emphasis, "We are not going in for loans when the country's on the verge of war." 

Talk of war was nonsense of course, but Pete had got the idea in Plymouth and that was it. Nancy believed that there was a need for passenger services to the continent from Newcastle, and that the company should buy a larger aircraft fit for carrying passengers. There were already services to New York and in hops to the Far East as well as flights to the continent. Passenger transport was where the future lay, and what a grand future it would be if only the opportunity was grasped. And here Nancy was stuck in Newcastle, flying bits and pieces from one regional airport to another. If only she could get hold of Captain Flint's legacy, Nancy thought, she would have more influence over what happened at Air Services. Since Christmas she had argued her case with Pete on several occasions. but he stubbornly refused to expand because that meant borrowing and he would not borrow. And, adding to her irritation, though she had not exactly vetoed the appointment she had certainly expressed her annoyance over the integration of Giles Broadbent into the business. That was a problem. His appointment had been a success and Nancy could not deny it. 

Then, on the last occasion when she had argued with him, Pete had made things worse. He had told her that he was talking to someone else who already had a plane, and would like to join them. He even admitted he had talked with their neighbours about merging the two operations. 

That had infuriated Nancy, since she considered that the new pilot and their old neighbours were even more conservative than Pete and Mr Hughes. To cap it all, Pete had said he admired their business. The company next door had just three big customers, but the business those customers generated kept them busy. These contracts, Pete had told Nancy, meant their costs were lower and profit margins greater, but Nancy knew, or thought she knew, that they did not make so much money as all that.

As the hopes of securing money from her uncle's will receded, and her efforts to persuade Pete to borrow to expand the business resulted in no change of attitude, Nancy began to dream of an alternative. Why shouldn't she start up her own thrusting, growing air transport business? 

To this end she had begun to fill an exercise book with her ideas, complete with costs. She had shown it to Mr Hindley in the hopes he might consider setting aside some funds from his business interests to back her ideas. He had gone through her figures briefly, and come up with all manner of objections. Frustratingly he made the same point that Pete had repeatedly made, that any start up or development needed far more money than she thought was necessary. Mr Hindley had said, "However much you think you'll need, double it, and you will still underestimate what you need." 

He had shown no further interest, but Nancy believed Mr Hindley was more persuadable than Pete and Mr Hughes. She was aware that for the time being she was in no position to antagonise her partners more than she had already.

Just prior to Easter she heard from Pete that Air Services Ltd would make a profits distribution, but that the amount Pete was proposing was pitifully small. Nancy had expected it to be a far bigger sum, and had planned to have her lounge redecorated. But the sum was to be so small that she decided over Easter she would do the decorating herself and bought the paint brushes and sand paper. 

She would make no contribution to the business this time either. It was a decision that did not go down well with Pete. Stung, Nancy had had an argument with him over it. Again she had tried to persuade him to borrow, and he had turned her suggestions down flat. Later, she had another go at Pete, who this time turned on her exasperated and said, "Nancy, you are not investing in us, if you are so dissatisfied then perhaps you should consider resigning and leaving." 

Pete's comment shook Nancy, and she realised she had gone too far. At present she was in no position to start up as a competitor.

The hockey season hadn't been going well either and this year neither side had qualified for the cup. The 1st 11 had only managed 4th in the league, and the 2nd, 11 only 3rd position in theirs. In the last few games Nancy had been twice booked for dangerous play, and in the very last she had been sent off. Nobody thought the incident warranted her being sent off, but her style of play in the closing games of the season had, they though, contributed to the referee's decision. Nancy had appealed. At the season's end she felt she had played as well as the previous year, but she was forced to acknowledge she hadn't seemed as effective as she had been in previous tournaments. 

Thus, the end of season dinner dance was a muted affair the Saturday before Easter, and with no cup tie to play for and no match on Saturday, the season fell apart. Then to top it all Bernard told Nancy he would not be around over Easter. He was, he had said, to go with his parents to an aunt in the Midlands. 

In fact this was not the truth, but Nancy was not to know that. 

Nancy decided to spend the long weekend decorating her lounge, and in the evening she would go back to her exercise book and consider what was to be done with her company. By Saturday lunchtime she had made good progress with the decorating, but discovered she needed more paint and plaster than she had bargained for. She wrote a cheque for more supplies, though it meant that by her calculations she would have to dip into her deposit account. She had, by dint of persuasion of which she was very proud, arranged things so that were her current account to drop below a certain level it would be automatically topped up from her deposit account. One of the conditions attached to Mr Lisle's advance of funds was that the deposit account was to remain untouched, but Nancy had already breached that condition on a number of occasions. 

She was also by now wishing that she had chosen to practise decorating on e her spare room before the lounge. The end result was not going to be as smart as she had planned. It had been more difficult than she had expected to achieve a good result.

Nancy's evening sessions with her exercise book made her no happier. She had gone through her notes about how she hoped to develop Air Services (NB) Limited, and found she had made omissions that could not be easily rectified. No wonder Mr Hindley had been sceptical. In anger Nancy ripped the pages out, screwed them up and threw them in the bin, only to recover them later. It was all irrelevant, she thought, frustrated. sShe had to accept she was not going to persuade Pete to borrow money, certainly not the amounts she knew were necessary to develop the business as she wished to do. 

Her frustration grew worse when she reviewed her plans to start up on her own. Now Nancy realised there were all manner of things she had not written down, and she had the niggling memory of Mr Hughes saying, "Whatever money you thought you needed, double it, and add some more." 

Nancy did not sleep well, and by morning she had come to admit that she was not after all going to get hold of Uncle Jim's legacy. That left her with the only source of money to fund her start up Mr Hindley, and even that at four o'clock in the morning that proposal seemed highly unlikely. But Nancy went out first thing and bought the additional items she needed for decorating, and felt better when she was working on the lounge. 

By the time she had made herself a scratch dinner and sat down to eat, she faced the fact that the hopes she had nurtured since Christmas were unrealistic and unachievable. It was a bitter blow. She reviewed her life. During the week Peggy had rung her up to tell her she was now engaged to Rodney and was planning to marry, either in the autumn or more probably in the spring. That had come as something of a shock to Nancy, for she had always imagined she would be the first to marry. It was she who had always been more interested in men than Peggy, she reasoned, and yet Peggy was to marry first. 

She had heard little of Titty too since they had parted after their walk on Parvey Ark. Nancy had written once, and thought Titty had written twice, she could not remember. At least there had been no more invitations to go walking or climbing. To accept the last had been a mistake on her part, and she would not make it again. She had, she decided grown apart from her friend and developed more grown up interests. Fancy going all the way to Switzerland just to do school work, it was a waste. 

But there was a niggling doubt about her thoughts that worried Nancy. When she had seen Titty in London the other girl had looked incredibly smart and well dressed. Nancy still wondered if it had really been Titty she'd seen, but she knew it had. How could Titty Walker, of all people, look so smart and sophisticated, carrying herself with such poise and self confidence? Somehow Nancy had missed something, and that failure did not make her happy. She was miserably aware that she did not radiate that sense of being so adequate, nor had she worn business clothes with such ease as Titty, nor indeed ever hadowned any. Envious, Nancy knew that Titty, in spite of the fact she was so small, had her mother's alert grace. 

Besides, Nancy thought sulkily, where had Titty got the money to buy clothes like that? She knew Titty had had a bequest from Uncle Jim, but Nancy could not imagine her spending the money on clothes. 

Nancy found no solution to her thoughts looking into the grate. Never mind that she had experiences that would equal those of Titty Walker any day. What was Titty Walker doing mincing round London with men looking doe eyed at her? It was not fair. Titty wouldn't even notice the men were available, surely she should have been holed up in Cambridge swotting - English this year, of all subjects. 

Nancy, she thought, would have known exactly what to do. Titty should have taken her advice.

Through Sunday and Monday Nancy worked on, and was able to return the furniture to nearly normal on Monday afternoon. The decorating was not quite as she had envisioned it, but would have to do. She would do her second bedroom next, and have the dining room done professionally.

After the long weekend, Nancy drove into the shed on Tuesday morning thinking, 'It's Birmingham today, but I'm off with Mr Hindley tomorrow. I shall be out of Pete's hair, and he said he wouldn't be in Saturday.' 

On Friday night she had promised to go out with Bernard and let their hair down a bit. Mark would not mind if she was in late on Saturday in the way Pete would. 

As she walked to the office Nancy noticed someone had had a bonfire on the patch of ground between Mr Hughes' workshop and the shed,. And when she opened the door, Pete was on his hands and knees picking up bits of paper. Nancy asked, "What's wrong?"

Pete growled, "Every damn thing. Go and look in our room."

Nancy went through to the office they still called the partners' room, and found that the desk drawers were pulled open and there were papers strewn all across the floor. She came out hurriedly and said, "We've had burglars?" 

Pete stood up and looked at her hard. "Far worse than that. Burglars don't bother to take all the account books and invoice records and torch them in a bonfire. Exactly what has gone on I'm not sure, but I've a nasty feeling about it. I've called the police, they should be here any minute."

"What?" asked Nancy.

"I have tried to ring Carl, and the operator gets number unobtainable. You stay here and I'll drive round and see if he's there. My guess is he won't be." Pete paused, and stood up. "When did you last check Carl's work?"

"Last Saturday week," said Nancy

There was a silence and Pete looked at her hard. "Did you do it thoroughly?"

Nancy quailed inwardly. She had taken the books home, and indeed she had signed them, but that was all. If ever Pete was to find that out she would be in trouble. She said, "I did the usual checks." Which was the truth. Then she said, "I'd better fly with that part to Birmingham."

"No you won't. Giles will have to do that." Pete said gruffly.

Nancy said, "Why not me? It's my job."

He turned on her and said harshly, "Did you fill up on Thursday night?"

She said, "No, I got back late. What's that got to do with it?"

He asked roughly, "What about Saturday morning then?"

Nancy said crossly, "No, I didn't then either, what of it?"

Pete said heavily, "Because we are allowed no more fuel. We haven't paid the bill for three months, according to Ralph. Had you filled up as we agreed you should, you could go to Birmingham. But as it is once you've done Glasgow we shan't be going anywhere. Take Mark's plane. I'm going to see if Carl's about. I shan't be gone long, then you go to Glasgow." 

Pete left. 

Nancy was seething. 'Why should he dictate where I go?' She thought. Then it dawned on her what Petehe had said. They hadn't paid the bill, so they weren't allowed to fill up. She was certain that she had seen the airport in the account book, even if she had been careless. 

Before she could check, Pete came back in looking grimmer than ever, and said Carl wasn't there. Nor anything else. The police arrived at last, and grumbled when they realized Pete and Nancy had tidied up some of the paper. Pete said, "You fly to Glasgow, Nancy, we might need the money, Goodness knows what sort of mess we're in."

By the time Nancy got back five hours later Pete knew a great deal more. Mark had been sent to the bank. The first thing he said to her was, "Nancy, when you last check how much is in your bank account?"

Nancy said crossly, "Why?"

He said bleakly, "Because Mark hasn't been paid for three months, and I am willing to bet that unless you know otherwise neither have you."

Nancy rang the bank, and after a long delay they said the manager wanted to see her, could she come round straight away? She had a sinking feeling, and she was right to do so, for in her two accounts there was just two pounds seven shillings and eight pence. 

The bank manager wanted to know how she had got in such a state. She hadn't been paid for four months. In both accounts together there should have been £100 and more, but there was virtually nothing. Furious and worried, Nancy told the bank manager about the break in at Air Services, and together they went through her account with her. Not only had she not been paid, but three large sums had been withdrawn from her account. The cheques had been made to an unknown person in her hand writing with her signature, or rather a signature that was indistinguishable from hers. She agreed with the bank they should open a new account, paying into it her allowance from the trust fund, next due in three days time. In the meantime the bank would carry out an investigation. 

Nancy drove soberly back to the shed. Things had moved on. The first thing she said was, "What will I do tomorrow when Mr Hindley comes?" 

Pete said, "I doubt if he'll come."

Nancy said, "He must, we were going to spend the night together."

There was a silence, and then Pete said, "What did you say?"

Nancy said, "We were going to start an affair, he was going to have me to stay in the same hotel as him."

Pete said, horrified, "How long has this been going on?."

Nancy said as convincingly as she could, "I said, we were going to start tomorrow. It was to be the first time. We were in love."

Pete said bitterly, "You fool; we think Mr Hindley has probably orchestrated this theft. The company's account has been emptied. We have no money and our suppliers have not been paid. Nancy, have you been checking the bank statements against the records Carl kept?"

"Not very well. And why blame Mr Hindley?" Nancy said.

"Does that really mean not at all?" Pete sighed. "And, Nancy, so far as Mr Hindley is concerned the police are already investigating two other thefts. both of which have been traced back to him. Those are similar to ours. And the police know Carl has links with him." 

"It means hardly at all." Nancy said in a low voice. "The books."

Pete went white, covered with his face with his hands and sat down on the nearest chair. After a minute he got up and went to the partners' room. Twenty minutes later Mark came out and said to Nancy, "Pete says you are to ring all our suppliers and find out how much we owe them. We need duplicate invoices for everything that hasn't been paid." 

During the afternoon Pete came out once and asked, "Nancy, when you took those account books home, did you do anything with them? Anything at all?"

She said, "Of course. I looked through the last pages, They seemed alright to me."

Pete said, "I don't mean, did you look at them, I mean did you add them up? Did you cross reference them, the figures in the book with the bank statements and the cheque stubs?"

Nancy burst out, "No, I did not. That would have taken ages."

Pete said, "Nancy, you agreed that you would. If you weren't checking, why didn't you say? Besides your hockey, surely there was time some time over the weekends to at least glance at the figures?"

Nancy said, "I worked bloody hard all the week. I couldn't work all the time. I had to have a life."

Pete said, "Nancy, you are the director of a small business. You are earning excellent money, better than most women your age. With that money comes responsibility. You seem to have taken the money but not the respon...." 

It was as far as he got. There was a knock on the door and three policemen walked in. 

They were still there when Nancy went wearily home.

She searched the house, and all her pots and found about £10 in cash about the house. That meant £12. 10s she had in all. She hid the 10 shillings, rang Bernard, and suggested that when they went out on Friday they spent it on a final bust up. Then, she gave him an outline of what had happened.

The next day she spent finding out what invoices had been paid and what had not. Pete had kept a meticulous record of what he had done for years. Nancy had a diary where most of the work she did was recorded, and Mark kept no records at all. Just as Pete had guessed, Mr Hindley did not appear. But the police did. Two of them spent sometime questioning Nancy about what she did, what checks she was supposed to do, and what she hadn't done. They took her working diary and made a list of when and where she had flown since the start of the year. Learning she still had last year's diary, they asked her to fetch it. 

Nancy thanked her lucky stars she kept one for work and another for her social life. 

She had thought that would be the end of it. It wasn't. The polite, ruthless inspector spent most of the afternoon quizzing her about Mr Hindley. It became clear that Mr Hindley was the prime suspect and Nancy with him, but the questioning eased when Nancy convinced them she had only had dealings with the man when she had flown him about the country. She was asked whether she had much to do with him when she was away. After a while they accepted her denials, that she had had nothing to do with him. That seemed the end of the matter.

Nancy did have to provide Pete with lists of jobs she had done, inquiries which had obviously arisen from some questions the police had raised. Pete spent much of Thursday with the police, and the rest of the time with Mr Hughes using, Nancy discovered, Mr Hughes' office. From time to time she had to provide Pete with more information. Friday was spent doing more of the same, and it was dull work. Nancy longed to fly, but there was no chance of that. By now she knew that there was a close link between Carl and Mr Hindley. Carl had had no sick wife, and the police were presuming that his absences were almost certainly due to meetings with Mr Hindley. But neither of them had been heard of since Easter Monday lunchtime, when they were known to have met at a pub and had a pie and a pint together, as apparently they did on a regular basis. It also became evident that a number of small companies had lost money as a result of Mr Hindley's activities, including two garages. One of these was found to be hardly affected, but the other was badly hit.

Nancy decided to put all of this behind her and go out and enjoy herself. She wore her most daring dress, one that Bernard had not seen before, and took great care making up her face and applying scent. She was determined to break all the rules tonight. 

When he arrived to collect her, Bernard was driving a big Lanchester which he told her was his company car. They went for a spin before going to the hotel. There they had a splendid meal and when Nancy had used up her money, Bernard spent a little of his. As they left Nancy said, "Come back to my place tonight." 

They did, and began on the settee with a glass of whisky each. They soon progressed upstairs to Nancy's bedroom.

By the time Bernard left it was just before five, Nancy was bruised, sore, and uncertain whether Bernard had been particular about a condom every time. Her virginity was a thing of the past. 

The next thing she knew was the phone ringing. When she stumbled downstairs and answered it, it was Pete, "I thought it was Sunday you slept in. I've been trying to wake you since nine; the police are here. They want to interview you." 

Nancy got herself half a cup of half cold black coffee and drank it while she dressed. She did her best with soap, water and a comb, but it was going to be evident she had had a night out. As soon as she reached the shed she was ushered into the partner's room. There were two policemen there. One asked abruptly, "Would you please tell us what you did last night?"

Puzzled, Nancy said, "I went out with my boy friend and had a meal at the George Hotel."

The Inspector asked, "What time did you leave the hotel?"

Nancy told him, "I think it was past 11."

The next question was, "And how much had your Mr Bernard had to drink?"

"I think he had about three pints." Nancy thought, 'This is getting nasty.' A little afraid, knowing Bernard's Lanchester had been parked in the street, she said, "We went to my house for a nightcap."

The questions were about to get a whole lot nastier.

"What time did Mr Bernard leave?"

"About twelve, I should think," Nancy said.

"What happened then?"

"I had a drink and went to bed." 

The policeman was silent and then asked, "Is that the truth?"

Nancy said, "Yes." but she coloured. 

The policemen let the silence hang for several minutes. The other police said with menacing softness, "Would you now like to tell us the truth?" 

There was another long silence and Nancy began to cry. They sat there in a very stony silence. Eventually she blurted out all that had happened.

When she had finished, the Inspector said, "Before you tell us a story like the first, tell your boyfriend to park round the corner, get him to come back over the fields, don't leave the light on, and certainly keep the curtains drawn. You gave two of our younger colleagues an instructive night." 

Nancy coloured in shame, and got up to go. 

The other policeman said, "Sit down. We haven't finished yet. I'm going to ask Pete in." 

Pete came in, and sat next to the detectives. They began slowly. "You told Pete you were intending to start an affair with Mr Hindley on Wednesday. Is that correct?"

Nancy said, "Yes."

The Inspector said, "Was that correct?"

Nancy hesitated, she was going to answer 'yes' and the Inspector knew it. 

The Inspector said harshly, "I want you to tell me the truth."

She said in a small voice, "No, it wasn't."

"If that was not the truth, what is?"

Nancy was very slow in replying, and the other detective said, "Come on, Miss Nancy Blackett, we need to know."

Nancy said, "I've been having an affair with Mr Hindley for eighteen months." 

She heard Pete gasp. The Inspector asked, "How long?"

"Eighteen months."

The floodgates opened. They asked question after question, sometimes asking the same question again later, but Nancy was answering every one honestly even if she got confused. The whole tale was slowly pieced together, or most of it. There were questions, lots of them, about what money she had received, to which she was able answer none. "When we question you again we shall be asking about what you and Mr Hindley talked about when you were together," said the Inspector. 

Nancy was given a break, and was provided with sandwiches and a coffee by a silent Pete. Mark seemed to be absent throughout. After she had eaten the sandwiches she had a walk round the perimeter of the airport, wondering what the future would hold for her now. She presumed that she would get the sack. 

After an hour or so she was asked back in, and the questioning changed. No longer did they seem to be bent on confusing her. The questions came more slowly, and she was given time to think and formulate the answers, but nonetheless they policemen were frighteningly persistent. They seemed to accept that she had never met Bernard while in Newcastle, nor been to his house. It was at that point that Nancy realiszed she knew extraordinarily little about her boyfriend. She did not even know his home address. Or even whether he was married. All she knew was his business address, and she had never been there. 

There were also questions about how well and what she knew about Carl. But after a while the policemeny accepted she knew nothing. 

Nancy was cowed, and had decided during her walk it would serve her best to be as co-operative as possible. For all that she found it difficult to recall what she had told Mr Hindley, or indeed how much he had used her to increase his knowledge of their business. But under questioning she realiszed she had given away far more than she would have believed. She had also given away a little information about the small garages that had also been targets. This information, it seemed, Mr Hindley had used to gain entry to their accounts. But of course her knowledge was rudimentary, and the information she had given him added little to what he knew. 

It was close to eight o'clock before the policemeny left, with the instruction that Nancy was to make out a statement of all that had occurred between herself and Mr Hindley over the last eighteen months. 

But her trials were not over. She had to face Pete. He had questions of his own about what had happened while she was with Mr Hindley. He seemed sad rather than angry. Finally Pete told her he too wanted a written statement of the history of her affair and what she might, or might not have told him. "You've got all Sunday to do it. I'm making no decision about your future with us until next Friday at the earliest." Then Pete said sadly, "Nancy, Nancy what am I going to do with you? You may go now. I'll see you at eight o'clock Monday morning with the statement." 

Nancy left and began to drive home.

She hadn't gone far before she passed a lay-by in which was a large Lanchester. She knew immediately whose it was. She drove round, parked at the other end of the lay-by, and downed her lights. She could just see two heads very close together. After five minutes or so a girl got out of the car, went through an adjacent farm gate, and returned a minute or two later to get into the back of the car. Immediately Bernard got out and did the same thing. 

Nancy needed to stay no longer. She knew she was facing the nadir of her expectations. She went home made herself a cocoa, had two biscuits and went upstairs. She looked at the disordered bed room with disgust, but closed the curtains, got into bed, and pulled the covers over her head. 

She had expected she would not sleep, but Nancy woke with the light peeping through a gap in the curtains and found she had slept a solid ten hours. She was hungry, and after a thorough wash she made herself a cooked breakfast. Going through the house she tidied it, remade the bed, and washed the sheets and pillowslips and hung them out to dry inside. Her neighbours didn't like washing hanging out on a Sunday. 

Then she sat down at the kitchen table, planned, and then wrote up her statement. She stopped at lunchtime to make herself a cheese sandwich and a coffee, and continued. It was four o'clock before she had completed it and she then made a copy. Sometime after six o'clock it was done. Nancy made herself a bit of a meal and ate it dolefully. She had been expecting to spend the evening with Bernard, the arrangement they had made was that he would take her out, since she had taken him out on Friday. But now she did not expect him to arrive, and he did not.

Nancy listened to the evening news, and while she was doing so she took the exercise book in which she had written all her grand plans. She ripped out the remainder of the pages, added them to the ones she had recovered, and tore them all into small pieces. She would not need them ever again. Into the blank pages she wrote all her weekly expenses, and then what she paid out monthly. Written down in that way one item stood out a mile, her repayments on the loan she had taken out to refurbish her house. On a whim she worked out how much she had borrowed, and how much she would have paid back, and the total came as something of a shock. Were she to lose her job she had no idea how she would maintain those payments. What she was paying back was so much she thought it worthwhile mentioning it to the police. 

She had a cocoa and a biscuit and turned in, and much to her surprise she slept well again, woken by her alarm. 

She reached the shed just as Mark was taking off, quickly followed by Giles. Pete was in the office leafing through the post. There were three new account books on the desk. Pete looked up, "Morning," he said. 

Nancy thought he looked a little happier. 

"Mark's away," Pete said. "I paid the fuel bill, so we're in business again. Now we must assess the damage." 

Nancy said, "Where's Mark gone?"

"Glasgow," said Pete shortly. It was the job Nancy had failed to complete. He went on, "We've had the first batch of duplicate invoices. We have a new current account and there is a new cheque book. Check the invoices against the bank statement, and if they seem not to have been paid make out a cheque and I'll sign it. We'll send it off today."

Nancy said, "I'll do that." 

Pete disappeared into the inner office, and almost immediately Nancy heard him talking on the phone. She opened all the post and sorted out the duplicate invoices. About nine, she made them both coffee,s and took Pete's in to him. Pete looked up and said, "The police aren't coming today. I don't know why."

Nancy said, "What about the statement I've written?"

Pete said, "Hang on to it, they'll ring us if they need it."

Nancy said, "I've done a second copy for you, if you want it?"

Pete said, "Yes, please, thank you very much. So you know what's going on we are back in business. I am using the emergency fund and I've put more money into the business to keep us going. But one of the planes will have to be sold to keep us solvent."

Nancy asked, "Is it as bad as that?"

Pete said grimly, "It is. He cleared us out to the last penny. When we have used that £500 in the book there is very little more. On Wednesday, we shall all be in here all day, and I'm sorry but I think it would be better if you were not in on that discussion."

Nancy said tautly, "I wouldn't expect it any differently, Pete, I've been a fool a bigger fool than you know.",

Pete sighed and said, "Do you need any help, Nancy? Financially, I mean."

It was an unexpected kindness, and Nancy thought for a minute and said, "I don't know, I don't think so. Can I say later?"

Pete said, "Yes, of course. By the way I saw Rosalind on Sunday, I haven't told her what has happened, but if you need another woman to talk to I cannot think of a better. Have you got her phone number?"

"No," said Nancy. 

Pete handed her a slip of paper with a number already written down on it. Rosalind was the captain of the second 11. She played tennis too, but not very well. Nancy had never been friendly with her, she had always seemed too staid for Nancy's taste, but now the offer of help sounded like a godsend. 

When Pete bent his head over his work Nancy could see there columns of figures. Beside him were several sheets of foolscap. Her interview was over, but she still had no clue what would happen, she'd have to wait till Friday. 

Just before lunch Pete came out of the office and said, "I'm walking down to Mrs Rolls. Can I bring you anything?"

Nancy asked him to bring her a sandwich. He was back in a surprisingly short time. She paid for her sandwich, and then Pete gave her a doughnut with a wry smile. She got them another coffee, by now there were more written-over, scribbled sheets on the desk and she left him to it. Pete stuck at the accounts all day, often speaking to people on the telephone. Nancy left just after five he was adding up yet more columns of figures. 

Just before Nancy left she rang the number Pete had given her and Rosemary had answered. She suggested Nancy come round and have coffee with her after training on Thursday. 

Next day, shortly after Nancy got in, the police arrived, three of them. They went in to Pete straight away. She got them tea and coffee. One policeman came out about eleven and asked her if she had written her statement. She handed it to him, and he sat down and read it there and then from start to finish. He asked her a few questions and then, "Did Mr Hindley give you any expensive gifts?"

Rather embarrassed, Nancy told him scent and undies. 

The policeman seemed unconcerned. "Anything else?" 

Nancy remembered, "He gave me a record player. A good one."

The policeman was more interested in that, and said, "Can we go and see it?"

"Now?" she asked.

"Yes, if that would be acceptable."

They were driven round to Nancy's house, and the policeman looked at Nancy's record player very carefully, making a note of the make and model. She wondered if he would take it away, but he did not. He said, "It may have been stolen, but I doubt it. I suspect Mr Hindley picked it up cheap as a result of some deal he did. We'll say no more about it." Then on the way back he said to Nancy, "You ought to know that, because your first story did not tally with what we knew, we contacted your sister in Kendal and your friend Titty Walker. If folk steal money and come to our notice they try and hide it by passing goods on to friends and family. Of course we now know that did not happen. I gather Miss Walker was known to the police for the best of reasons. It seems your friendship with both has cooled of late, it's not my business of course, but you might do well to mend fences with them both." 

Nancy saw the opportunity to mention her loan. The policeman grimaced and said, "Well thanks, those sharks are known to us. I am not altogether surprised Mr Hindley had links with them. Be careful not to get on the wrong side of them." 

In view of what Nancy knew of her finances that comment seemed ominous.

The policemen stayed with Pete till mid afternoon, going out with him at lunchtime. At that point Nancy took a break and looked again at her finances. Everything looked worse than when she had done her figures on Sunday. 

On Wednesday the three men spent almost all day in the office, and at times there were raised voices. Nancy spent the day in the outer office, and by the time she went home the account books were as up to date as she could make them. Pete and the policemen were still arguing when she left. It was no good, Nancy decided, that day she would have to buy another bicycle for she could not afford to go on using her car. 

When she came in on Thursday neither Pete nor Mark were around, and there was only one plane on the grass outside. Pete flew in about four, had a coffee and told her he wanted to see her. 'This is it,' Nancy thought, 'I'm on the way with my cards.' 

But Pete said, "Sit down, Nancy. I need to talk to you."

"The bad news first," Pete said. "Nancy, we have decided you can no longer be a director of the company, and you are dismissed from Friday week. You will receive a formal letter to say so and we'll pay you £200 for your share of the business."

"I understand," said Nancy gloomily.

"Now. If you wish it, you may stay on with us in the job you used to do, including doing the occasional flight. We'll pay you £140 a year but there will be no supplements for flying trips. That would begin from Monday week, but I need to know if you are likely to accept."

Nancy said, "Thank you. I accept with thanks." 

Pete looked slightly surprised, and Nancy said bluntly,"You could not truthfully give me a decent reference, so I am not likely to get another job, am I? Besides, in spite of everything, I like working here."

Pete said gently, "Possibly you wouldn't have found it easy to get another job." 

As contritely as she could muster, Nancy said, "Pete, I'll give it my very best shot. There will be no more messing with our customers, and no more cutting corners either."

"OK, Nancy." 

Nancy was to learn that it was Pete who had argued strenuously she should be kept on. 

In the office, Pete went on, "The police told me something I was to tell you. Master Bernard is in much worse trouble than you. They knew you'd seen him in the lay-by with another girl, don't ask me how but they did. He evidently got up to much the same with her as he had with you, except it was in the back of a car. He drove off when the police tried to caution him, sped away, and crashed the car.The girl was hurt, and Bernard was found to be as drunk as a lord. As if that wasn't enough, the Lanchester he was driving was stolen. Didn't he have a Humber before?"

"Yes," said Nancy.

Pete said, "Well, apparently that was stolen too."

Nancy sighed; "I do seem to have been mixed up with the wrong sort of men."

Pete said dryly, "I'm afraid so." And that was that.

Nancy went to hockey training on Thursday night. She felt she was cold-shouldered by some, but Rosalind was there and when they ran round the field she ran with Nancy. Pete seemed to have arranged everything, and Nancy went back to Rosalind's little terraced house that she shared with her husband. They had coffee and plain biscuits, sitting in the lounge on Rosalind's worn settee. 

Rosalind said, "Pete said things had gone wrong for you. Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to keep quiet about it?"

Nancy had planned not to tell anyone, but she suddenly changed her mind. She began, "I've been a fool, and I've messed up my life and now I'm in a mess," and she spilled out the main points of her story. 

She had expected Rosalind to condemn her or tell her she would ensure Nancy was blackballed from the hockey and lawn tennis club, but she did neither. She merely said, "We all make mistakes," and then, "What is really bothering you?" when Nancy drew breath. 

Nancy thought for a few minutes, and then she said almost experimentally, "That I shall be spurned by people."

"Some will do that, just as they do me, but ignore them. They are worth nothing." 

Nancy knew she was among those who had ignored Rosemary. 

Rosemary went on, "If I were you I wouldn't tell any others what you've just told me. It may get about, but my guess is that those who are so minded will concentrate on the scandal surrounding Bernard. You'll be drawn into that, but only as a bit part player. If you're lucky, no one will know about Friday night."

Nancy asked, "You really think I might get away with that?"

Rosalind said, "If I understand you correctly what you will not be able to avoid is the fact you will have less spending money. I'm sorry, Nancy, but that's something that you can do nothing about. Is there anything else that's getting to you?"

Nancy, almost without thinking, told Rosemary that she had a loan she could not foresee how she could meet. 

Rosalind grasped her difficulty immediately. and began to question her about the arrangements. At last she said, "I think you should write down all the circumstances. And the amount, and exactly how much is outstanding, and take yourself across to Kendal and tell your trustee. You'll need to find something to offer him to help you get off the hook. If that doesn't work, go and tell Pete and if you get no joy there come back and tell me."

Nancy said, "Thank you." 

It wasn't much to go on but it was something. They went on to talk about tennis, and Rosalind said, "If I were you, I'd scratch the tennis until the Whitsun bank holiday tournament. Train hard for that one, to make a positive statement. But don't for goodness sake do that unless you've decided it is a good idea." 

They went on to talk about the coming summer for a few minutes. Nancy left just after nine, and by ten was asleep.

On her desk in the morning were the two letters of dismissal and apointment both signed by Pete, and a cheque for £200. It was typical of Pete, un-flashy, conservative and utterly dependable. 

Once again only one plane was on the grass outside. There was plenty to do; it was like going back nearly three years when Nancy first set up the office. She bought her sandwiches from Mrs Rolls, and three small account books: she marked one cash flow and the other reserve, that sum she would learn from Pete. The third Nancy put in her bag. She rang up the bank, and made an appointment to see someone of Saturday afternoon. She worked through the day except for lunchtime, when she went for a brisk walk round the perimeter of the airport. 

Neither Mark nor Pete were back when she returned, but Giles came in and commiserated with her. It was evident he knew nothing about her relationship with Mr Hindley. He told her he'd be glad when he was less in demand, and briefly she wondered if they would after all need to dispose of Tiger Lily. But that was no longer her decision to make. 

Getting back to work, Nancy began to prepare a list of the jobs the others had done. Last week, she realised, Pete had only flown two days out of five and Mark two and a half days. What had happened to all their work when often all three of them were busy six days out of six? The takings seemed minimal. 

Nancy was back in the office on Saturday. At coffee time Pete got them together, and told them he thought he had found a buyer for the Gypsy Moth. In addition, he discussed how he saw the following weeks panning out. Pete said he had already had several firms on the phone, saying they would no longer deal Air Services Ltd. Three had been very rude about it. They had known for some time Dr Critchley would no longer be going to Plymouth and he said he'd go by train for his last few appointments there. Dr Duggan had rung to say he would no longer use their services; He had been interviewed by the police and thought it was an impertinance. Add those to the fact that Mr Hindley was completely out of the frame and a number of other customers ceased to call them, it was a far bigger fall out than the fuel affair. 

Over the next months Pete said he thought they would have a thin time, and they would have to wait and see when business picked up. So not only had they lost money, he said, but they had lost a substantial chunk of regular business. 

When Mark was out of the room, Pete said quietly to Nancy, "Mark is very much against you still being employed. You'll have to give him time." 

Nancy asked him if she could have the following Saturday off in order to go and see Mr Lisle, and Pete said, "Yes, but I suggest you are seen to work late every day this next week. I'd say come in Sunday, but that would stop you spending time with Peggy if you wanted to." 

Nancy said she'd let him know. 

That afternoon, she went into Newcastle, banked the cheque and was granted a long talk with the under manager. In the end she told him about the loan, he approved of her plan to ask Mr Lisle, made a note of the fact her salary would be less and gave her enough cash to cover her normal expenses, a trip to Kendal and the purchase of a bicycle. Nancy had gone in by bus, so when she had bought the bike she rode it home. She rang Peggy and asked if she would be about the next weekend, and when Peggy asked what had been going on, Nancy told her she'd rather explain it face to face. 

On Monday morning she rang Mr Lisle, who said if she could come about ten o'clock next Saturday, he would see her for as long as was necessary.

Peggy had not been that surprised when Nancy had rung her, but she had not expected Nancy would suggest coming and staying the weekend. It suited Peggy very well. Normally she and Rodney would spend most of Saturday and Sunday together, but it so happened that a friend of Rodney's had obtained some Cup Final tickets, and four of them were off together to London. 

Lat week, Peggy had been with Rodney when he received a telephone call from his father. It was quickly obvious that something serious had happended, concerning Bernard. Concerned, Peggy had lingered by the phone. She liked Mr and Mrs Oats. Rodney's mother was a small cheerful woman who reminded Peggy of her mother, without the endless chatter and before she became influenced by Mrs Grove. Mrs Oats was also an excellent cook. Mr Oats was small, too, a modest man who was a civil servant. He seemed somewhat overawed by the physical size of his elder son and the success of his younger, with whom he shared a passion for nature. 

At last Rodney came off the phone. Peggy asked "Well, what was all that about?"

Rodney said, "Bernard's been arrested and is being held by the police."

Peggy asked, "Whatever for? What's he done?"

Rodney had sighed, and sat down heavily screwing up his face with concern, "He really is in trouble. He was seen by the police having a wild time with a girl in the back seat of a car, and when the police tried to stop him he drove away. He crashed the car and the girl was injured, but then the idiot tried to run away. He didn't get far. The police caught him. He was drunk, the car was stolen from his employers, and you remember that big Humber he drove about in, that too, the likelihood is, was stolen, too. And of course neither was insured."

Peggy said, "The woman wasn't Nancy, was it?"

Rodney said, "No, thankfully it was not. But Dad's heard that something bad has happened at Air Services Limited. He doesn't know what, but we think it's something to do with Bernard." 

Peggy said, "Oh crumbs, what a mess. What will happen now?"

Rodney said, "Bernard has been charged with several things, car theft so far but other charges are pending. The police told Dad he will be charged with other offences, and if he is found guilty he'll go to jail. If he had been wise he would have pleaded guilty, but apparently he has some jumped up solicitor friend who insists he should plead not guilty."

"Poor Nancy," said Peggy

For a few minutes Rodney looked into nothingness. "I got the impression Nancy thought she was the one and only, but of course she never was. He was playing the field all the time. He has always played the field, and always got up to no good with the girls. Of course mother is really cut up about it, and Dad's worrying himself to bits."

"What about Air Services Limited?" asked Peggy.

Rodney said, "Dad doesn't know, except that it's serious, and has something to do with a Mr Hindley."

Peggy stopped and then said, "I'm sure Mr Hindley was a man Nancy was flying all over the place. She liked him, and he was forever giving her stuff. But, Rodney, what happened to the girl in the car? Was she badly injured?"

"Bad enough, she's still in hospital but is expected out at the end of the week. Mum and Dad know her parents, who are naturally very upset. Especially as she might be charged with indecency." 

Peggy said, "It was a bit more than a snog then?"

Rodney said, "I gather so. I know he was a bit wild, and I knew he drank a lot, but I am a bit surprised he went as far as he did. I'm really worried about mum, she'll be so upset. Have you heard from Nancy?"

"No, not a thing," Peggy said and she got up. It was time for Rodney to walk her back to his lodgings.

So Peggy was unsurprised Nancy phoned her, but she had expected Nancy to tell her about Bernard, not that her sister was coming over to Kendal and would, she insisted, sleep on the Pound's floor. Peggy wondered what Nancy would tell her. She assumed Nancy would arrive on lunchtime Saturday, but she said instead she would arrive late Friday. When she told her employer, at the last minute they gave Peggy Saturday morning off.

It was nearly ten o'clock on Friday night before Nancy arrived at the Pound's, and Peggy was a little shocked, for she did not look well at all. 

Over cocoa, Nancy told Peggy she had an appointment with Mr Lisle at ten in the morning. All she told Peggy that evening was she was in a mess. She did tell Peggy about Bernard, and admitted to her it was only on Friday that she had had a romp with him at her own house, although she did not tell Peggy the police knew about it and had been watching. She did tell Peggy that they had both had a lot to drink. 

Peggy commented sharply, "I thought you'd promised yourself you wouldn't drink more than a single glass of wine?"

Nancy had forgotten she had told Peggy about that promise to herself. She said grimly, "Pegs, I breached it, fool that I am, never ever again. If it was just that, I'd now be quite pleased. But I'll tell you about the rest tomorrow. I need to get my head down." 

In the morning Nancy began to appreciate why Peggy liked living at the Pound's. There was plenty of hot water for a wash, you did not have to rely on just a kettleful as she did at home, and the house felt warm and comfortable. When they got up about seven there were domestic noises downstairs, and Nancy could just hear a saw being used in the yard. When Peggy opened the window there was the slightest whiff of newly sawn timber, someone was working a couple of doors down. Peggy made scrambled egg on toast and a cooked breakfast, an unheard of luxury for Nancy. She was forced to ask, "Who taught you you to make scrambled egg with mustard and herbs?"

Peggy grinned, "Titty did." 

Nancy said, "I didn't know she cooked, I though she always ate in the college dining room. I haven't heard from her for ages. You must tell me about her before I go home. But me first."

Her sister looked at her, and said, "I think, after you walked with her when they stayed at Holly How, Titty thought she wasn't that welcome and she had upset you. But tell me about yourself first?"

Nancy drew breath, "Well, I might as well tell you it all. As from yesterday I am no longer a director of Air Services Limited, and as from Monday I go back to being a clerk. I might as well tell you I'm lucky to have a job at all. That is why I need to go and see Mr Lisle. I'm going to be eating a mountain of humble pie this weekend."

"Why have you got the sack? And how is it they've kept you on?" Peggy asked. 

Nancy started, "It really began about eighteen months ago, when I began to have rather more to do with Mr Hindley than I should have done." 

She had not expected Peggy to ask so bluntly, "Did you go go to bed with him?"

"Yes I did, in effect I became his mistress." Nancy hadn't intended to tell Peggy that, but she but had been left with no choice. "Yes," she said again. It sounded awful. 

She went on to tell Peggy the whole tale, including how Mr Hindley and Carl had stripped the company of its cash and were in trouble for defrauding other companies. By the time she finished it was time to walk to Mr Lisle's office. They walked together into Kendal, and Nancy agreed to meet Peggy back at the Pound's after she had done some shopping. 

She had a long and anguished conversation with Mr Lisle. At one point when she hesitated, Mr Lisle said "I want you to make a clean breast of it. I want to know it all, only then will I see if I can help you." 

Nancy sat there silent for a minute or two, and then told him everything, except her night with Bernard which she did not think was relevant. She did tell Mr Lisle about her relationships with Mr Hindley and with Bernard. "I had another boyfriend at the same time," she added. "He went off the rails too, but that did not involve me as Mr Hindley did." 

Mr Lisle looked at Nancy sadly. Then to her surprise he said calmly, "You are not the first young woman, or man for that matter, who has sat in that chair to tell me their life, has fallen to bits because they've acted foolishly. What is important is the resolve that you show to put it right, or as you would say change course." 

Despite all the circumstances that comment gave Nancy an idea. 

Mr Lisle went on, "This is what I propose to do first. I need to solve that nasty debt, so you are to leave that with me for the time being. Have you got the papers?" 

Nancy said, "Yes, here they are." 

"That," said Mr Lisle with a sort of half smile, "Is a good start. Do you mind leaving these with me?"

"No," said Nancy.

"Now, my dear. For one minute, look on the bright side. You've still got a job, and that tells me someone thought you were, in spite of the foolishness, worthwhile. Now, have you any other ideas?" 

"Yes," Nancy said "I want to live within my income, so I want you to stop my allowance."

"That is radical. Why do you want to do that?" Mr Lisle asked.

Nancy said determinedly, "To remind me never to be a fool again. I ought to be able to do it. I shall now be earning only a little less than Peggy, and I'm not saving to get married." She grinned.

Mr Lisle put his hands together and was silent for what seemed an age. Then he said, "What I shall do is to send you your allowance for three months, so you can use it if necessary, then I won't send you any more. But I shall put aside a sum; I'm not telling you how much. But if you hit an emergency you apply to me, not to some dodgy loan company. If I were you I would just check with the bank, they are not going to re-supply your current account from your deposit account. Oh, I will give you a cheque for £30 to start a new deposit account - it's your first reserve account, but only use it if you really need to."

Mr Lisle made out the cheque and gave it to Nancy, wished her good luck, and ushered Nancy out to walk slowly back to the Pounds. It was all very well, she thought, to be brave in his office, but could she really curb her spending to half what it had been? Nancy wasn't sure, but she was going to try. 

Over lunch Peggy suggested they either went into town and looked at the shops, or went for a walk down the Lune. Nancy plumped for walking down the Lune. She told Peggy how she had expected to be given the sack, and how Pete had offered her a job and she had accepted. How she intended to live on her wages, and had cancelled her allowance. 

Peggy said, "What about all your grand plans?"

Nancy said, "Don't ask. I ripped them up last weekend, and slung them in the bin. And in the bit of the book that was left I tried to work out how I could live on £140 a year." 

Peggy said "I see." 

Nancy went on to ask Peggy how she managed on her wage, and they had a long conversation about budgetting. Then Nancy said, "Come on now, tell me about Titty. Has she ditched me? What happens when she hears all this?" 

Peggy said, "If I were you, I wouldn't tell her, just say things went wrong. She won't be too surprised. She knows a little anyway, because the police went to see her, and me, to see if you'd deposited money with us."

Nancy said, "Why would she not be surprised? She lives such a sheltered life."

Peggy said, "You've always underestimated Titty. She thought you were flying too high. She is like Captain Flint, she never asks you why you fell over, she just helps you up. For example, John isn't that great at English, so she helped him on the QT. Commander and Mrs Walker didn't know for ages."

Nancy said "Right." She walked a little further, and said, "Now, what is Titty getting up to? When I went to London with Bernard we were stuck in a traffic jam in a taxi, when who should I see but Titty. She came out of some offices with a smart elderly gentleman, she was very smartly dressed and he certainly wasn't her boss. But Titty looked very smart in a fitted coat, and court shoes; she really looked the business and was carrying a briefcase. Then, blow me, we were walking up Whitehall and there she was again with two young naval officers. They were handing her into a taxi, they practically saluted, and they both lifted their caps. So, what's going on?"

Peggy laughed, but did not seem surprised. She said, "The clothes I can explain. Titty needs smart clothes; she's not very interested in them, so she goes to her mother's dressmaker in Ipswich and says, I'm doing this or that, and the dressmaker makes her things she thinks will do. Titty hasn't room for lots of clothes, so she has very few, but they're good quality. Titty is still happiest in the mountains in an old pair of shorts and a hand-me-down blouse and a sweater. Now, the older gentleman was probably from a publishing house, she is always doing translation for a couple of publishers. Then the navy, she's worked as a translater for them since just after she left school."

"Golly, I didn't know she was that good. Do they pay her?" Nancy asked.

"Of course they pay her," said Peggy, "But I've no idea how much. What I can tell you is that when she went to Switzerland...." 

Nancy interrupted, "Surely that was as a student, swotting."

Peggy went on, "Not on your life, she was there as a lecturer and tutor. I knew because a friend's sister went. All the students were scared of her, she had a reputation for being strict and expecting you to work hard. My friend told me she was lovely, and very good both at lecturing and at holding tutorials. My friend found out by mistake what they paid her - it was a lot." 

"How much?" Nancy asked.

"Sorry, I'm not telling you, I found out by mistake. And remember she doesn't earn a salary like you and I, but gets income from all sorts of sources. When she puts extra work she says what she gets depends on how good her last piece of work was. But being Titty, I guess her good is very, very good."

"Golly, little Titty," said Nancy. " I still can't get over how smart she was in London."

"She isn't interested in being smart," said Peggy, "That's the dressmaker. When we went to Cambridge Titty wasn't smart. She was wearing just a very plain woollen skirt. and a flowered blouse and a sweater. She lives in a small room in the eaves of the college building, but she now has a study on the ground floor with shelves of books and a big desk and easy chairs, because she does these tutorials. But underneath she's still the shy modest person she always was."

"Has she got a boy friend yet?" asked Nancy.

"Yes, he's a doctor."

Nancy said, "Oh. I suppose he's much older than her, could she do better than that?"

Peggy said, "There you are again, underestimating her. He must be six feet plus, he is a surgeon in Edinburgh and some sort of an adviser to other places on the continent, too. To cap it all he is the son of a laird who owns a vast estate in Perthshire."

Nancy asked, "How an earth did she meet him?"

Peggy said, "Don't you know? She was climbing in Glencoe and the chap she was with hurt his hand.She got him off the hill. It was in the papers. This chap was evidently hefty and no-one knows how she did it. She met this man coming down the mountain, and then they met again somehow in Lucerne. Not that Titty knows I know that."

"Does she still run?" asked Nancy.

"You really don't read the papers, do you?" said Peggy. "She has won three important cross country races this year. She would be picked to run for Britain, but she upset the officials." 

"Titty upset the bosses, how?" asked Nancy.

"She wouldn't do things that interfered with her academic work. So when they tried putting the screws on her, she told them to go away."

"Titty did?" said Nancy.

"You don't do the things she's done by being a little softy. I guess she can be, if she decides to be, both stubborn and tough. Somehow you know when you meet her you couldn't push her around. Don't forget this is a girl who still trains with the marines when she's at home in Shotley."

"Crumbs, I can't imagine it," said Nancy.

They went back for a meal concocted by Peggy on her two burner stove. Before she left at lunchtime on Sunday, Nancy had some of Peggy's cheap recipes and ideas about how to live cheaply and have a good time. She, in fact, she went home a lot happier than she came. But she was still puzzling over Titty Walker.

The week went by and Nancy had her first flight, all be it only to Berwick and back. But Pete took over flying Tiger Lily and his yellow Gypsy was sold. The finances of Air Services Limited were in better shape at the end of the week than they were at the beginning. But the company was very much weaker than it was before the theft and ensuing mayhem. They had still lost an awful lot of business, and it would take them years to rebuild. Nancy managed to live on her income for the next few weeks and even had a small surplus. But it took all her determination to do so.

Of Mr Hindley and Carl nothing was ever heard of again. The references Carl had brought were false and there was no wife, let alone a sick one. They had left a trail of devastation behind them when they went. A jeweller's shop had closed, leaving a number of suppliers with substantial debts, a situation that was repeated across the county. A car dealership was left with a depleted stock, cars that had been bought but never paid for and sold on across the country. Due to the former prudence of the proprietors, like Air Services Limited they survived. A small engineering company did not, and they blamed Air Services for their demise, although that was not true but due to their own incompetence. The police were convinced that the company from whom Nancy borrowed her money continued in business by only just keeping within the law. 

Some three months later when the police came and talked the thing over with Pete, they were convinced they had a connection with Mr Hindley and might know where he was, but they never succeeded in proving anything.

Three weeks after her visit, Mr Lisle rang Nancy and told her he had settled her debt, but would not tell her how much it had cost. By the time he did so Nancy almost felt she had settled into her new existence. Rosalind had become a confidant and a good friend. Nancy, by sheer determination to do so, won the Ladies Singles Whitsun Tournament and then refused to play competitive tennis until July. She had written to Titty and agreed to visit her as soon as she could find the time. She and Peggy met one way or another most months. Pete came to her one day and suggested she take a fortnight off in the summer to get, as he put it, a real break from Air Services. After six weeks or so Mr Hughes resumed his lunchtime visits about twice a week, and always brought rolls and doughnuts with him.


	20. Titty goes to Scotland

Titty came up to Cambridge for her first term on the staff. She arrived, as requested, a day or two early and reported to Mrs Pritchard. Whatever happened, she was determined to do her very best to justify her lecturers' faith in her. Mrs Pritchard welcomed her with, "I am told you did outstandingly well in Lausanne." 

Titty said a somewhat muted, "Yes."

Mrs Pritchard said, "I know, but they didn't tell you?"

Titty smiled and said, "They didn't. I spent the whole three weeks wondering whether I was doing the right thing. I was scared stiff."

"Well you jolly well did do the right thing, and jolly well done for that. It bodes very well for what we have in store for you," said Mrs Pritchard, and smiled. "First the study bit. Monday afternoons, you will attend your advanced studies in English studies. Then every Tuesday morning you'll spend two to three hours with the code breakers. You'll have to work hard, but they tell me it is all very relaxed. Now I've told you that, if we were to ask you to do anything in that time you are to point out that you are booked, you are unavailable. Is that clear? And you'll have our permission to be very firm about it. As for the courses, you've had details of the English course for some time?"

"Yes," said Titty.

Mrs Pritchard said, "There will be the occasional essay. There is one for which there is a prize, and I warn you, you are expected to enter, but it does not have to be handed in until the 31st May. The code breaking is all practical stuff. Now, this is your schedule of lectures and tutorials."

Titty glanced at the schedule and knew this role was no sinecure. She was going to be busy, very busy. 

"Now come with me," said Mrs Pritchard. She led Titty across the courtyard and into the lecturers' area. There Mrs Pritchard dug in her handbag, produced a key, and used it to open a door. "Come in here," she said, and led Titty into a study. The windows looked out over the grass sward, and with the early autumn sunshine flooding in, it was a wonderful room. There were two easy chairs and a settee in front of a fireplace. In the window was a desk with an old wooden desk chair behind it. Mrs Pritchard said, "As of now this is your study. You may work here whenever you wish, this is where you will hold tutorials and interview students. We have given you a punishing schedule that we need you to fulfil. I know the Admiralty use you, they have all the summer. We have also found out that you translate for publishers, so we all agreed you need a sanctum, and this is it. Don't think I disapprove, I'm very pleased for you."

Titty could not believe it, a study to herself. She had assumed she would have to book one of the public rooms for tutorials, for to have a study of her own was beyond her wildest dreams. But Mrs Pritchard went on, "Right now you think this is a great privilege, but I assure you before half the term's gone by you'll know you've earned it. All you asked for was your old room in the gods. We approve of that, it will give you some additional security. I've heard all about those girls the summer before last and about Hans's antics." She giggled like a school girl, "Even if you did throw him down the corridor."

Titty blushed, "I only put him on the floor."

Mrs Pritchard said, "That wasn't quite what we were told, but never mind. The porters at the gatehouse have been told that in no circumstances is anyone to be told where your room is in the college, not that your friends at the lodge seemed to need to be told. Oh, but don't leave private papers around when you are not here, and it;s advisable to keep your door locked."

All Titty could think to say was, "Thank you very much."

Mrs Pritchard said again, "You'll earn it. Now then there will be no time for niceties once the students arrive, so how about coming to dinner with me tomorrow evening?"

Titty said, "I'd love too." 

"Dinner is at eight," said Mrs Pritchard with a rare smile. "There will only be you and I, and Mary of course. I want to hear about Lausanne. Oh yes, by the way, student rules no longer apply to you, the lodge knows. You may bring the male contingent here into the common areas, but not upstairs, even your Robert. I'll hear about Lausanne tomorrow so I'll leave you to settle in." 

It was all so quick Titty hardly knew where to start. Suddenly she knew, and went straight upstairs to sort out her room. She had got half way up the stairs when she had to go back and check she had locked her study door. But in her familiar little room she organised her clothes and belongings, collecting up books, pads, pencils and pens to take downstairs to her study.

Then she slipped out and went round to the Cambridge Harriers running track to see if anyone was about and, there training, was the tall miler. Seeing her he waved, did another lap, and came up with her. He said straight away, "I heard you were coming back and I hoped you'd join us. How are you?"

Titty said, "I'm all right, what night's training night?"

He said, "Wednesday, and Saturday mornings. Shall we see you here?"

Titty said, "I hope so."

He asked, "That's splendid. Have you done any racing over the summer?"

Titty said, "I entered a short local cross country race and came third. I wanted to see if I still had an appetite for competition and I have but...." she went silent.

"I gather that you are to be given a very demanding programme. So come to training, but don't commit yourself to do too much too soon. Nobody here is going to mind, and I'll make sure people who matter know what's going on and the stress you are under. You'll have apply for membership, but it's a formality. I'll give you a form sometime," smiled the miler, "But don't feel you need to be a member before you come training with us."

Titty said, Thank you," and turned away. 

She had only gone a few steps when Liz came up. "How lovely to see you again! Tell me you'rer going to join us."

Titty smiled, "Yes, I am no longer an undergraduate. Then I felt under an obligation to run for the college, but that's all over now." She warned, "I'm not sure how much I shall feel like racing."

Liz walked with her to the edge of the track and said, "You'll find there isn't the pressure to race the college teams have, and I know that there will be none for you. When we heard you were coming back we hoped you'd join us. Just see how it goes."

On Wednesday Titty was back with her running kit, and joined others running through the parks and streets of the city. It was all very low key. Already she was beginning to feel the pressures of the academic hothouse. Then there was the work. The first big envelope from the Admiralty had been given her by the porters at lodge. They had always been indulgent towards her, and now they couldn't do enough for her. They seemed to regard her as their special responsibility, and for her part Titty had always enjoyed being spoilt. A publisher had asked her to do another translation of an author from English into French, but she had until early the following year to complete the work. 

Titty quickly found her study an easy place to work and delighted in it. To sit there with a window open and to see out across the lawns was conducive to working hard, and she did. She took to coming in after her meal in the hall and working until ten or ten thirty. She had already been to Hatchards and bought stationary and books, and Pam had been delighted to find her back as a lecturer and tutor. Pam had noticed that two books among their stock for sale had a caption 'translation by T. Walker'. She knew who T. Walker was but said nothing about it. She suggested Titty have an account, but Titty had turned the offer, down telling Pam she would prefer to pay for what she bought at the time. On Friday she met the students allotted to her, two women and two men, and arranged they should come in for coffee and cake one afternoon. She did not feel up to having a cocktail party in the way that more senior tutors did. 

On Monday afternoon she attended her first tutorial as an advanced English student, and knew she needed to allocate time for the studies that arose from that meeting. The Tuesday morning session concerning code braking was more fun, and though they worked hard to her surprise there were only four of them. One of whom was Ralph. 'What,' Titty thought, 'Was a mathematician doing code braking?' 

She quickly found out, and they were soon challenging each other in their respective disciplines. One aspect where Titty found she was far ahead of any of the other three was in the field of naval strategy. Dr Brown the professor would defer to her when it came up. He was as unmilitary as it was possible to be, arriving looking slightly dishevelled and permanently worried. There was nothing wrong with his grasp of the subject, and it was not long before they were given the real thing to work on. Sessions frequently overshot the time they had been officially allocated. 

Titty found that her relationship with Mrs Pritchard particularly had changed more than she ever expected, and the senior lecturer behaved like a co-conspirator to get the best out the course and the students. Relations with Mr Roberts and Miss Mc Dougall remained much as they always been. But, like Lucerne, Titty was given no clue as to whether she was meeting the needs of the department, it all occurred in a vacuum. If it had not been so frustrating she would found it funny, especially remembering Mrs Prentice's sarcastic remarks about the Language School. 

Then before October was out, one Thursday Titty was approached at Cambridge Harriers to see if she could run for them on Saturday, as a regular team member had gone sick. It was a flat fast course on good paths, and Titty ran in second with more in hand than she expected, and both the club and she were pleased. The girls asked her if she would run for them occasionally, and it was all very relaxed compared to the pressure put on her by the college athletics team. Titty found the lack of pressure puzzling, so much so she asked Liz about it. Liz had grinned and said, "Firstly, Ros isn't about here to force the pace, and secondly someone has genned us up on your work schedule, although I'm forbidden to tell you who." So that was that.

Then there was a further ordeal to be faced. A visit to Robert's family. Titty went north on the night train, and Robert collected her from Edinburgh Waverley early one Saturday morning. He showed her round Edinburgh, including the hospital where he worked where she was conscious of being viewed with curiosity. They lunched at a dingy little café near the hospital, it belied its outward appearance by serving delicious soup and a hot soft roll. She and Robert reached his parents' estate mid afternoon, and Titty was intimidated by the long drive and the vast grim mansion. They immediately took tea in the lounge. Robert hadn't warned her there would be servants, and it was the first time she had been served tea in a family house by servants. That too she found uncomfortable, and she felt as though she was treated frostily. It was all very formal, hardly like a home at all. 

Then it became apparent you were expected to dress for dinner, and Titty had been allocated a maid, Mary. She was a cheerfully cynical lass several years younger than Titty. They took to each other immediately.

Mary shrewdly assessed Titty. She decided that she was alright, and just what Master Robert needed. She asked, "Are you used to very formal meals and servants?"

Titty said, "No, I'm not used to it at all. We have porters in college, but it's different." 

Mary said, "Cutlery, you start from the outside and work inside, if you make a mistake I'll see to it it's put right. Do you like a drink?"

Titty hesitated went for broke and said, "Not much."

Mary grinned and said, "Thought you might not somehow. Don't drink more than halfway down the glass, let them take it away unfinished, and I'll see Rob and Tim and fix it." Titty was uncertain how it was to be fixed, but grateful. 

Just before she went down to dinner Mary gave her a straight look and said, "Her ladyship will try and put you down, keep your end up."

The dinner progressed with appalling slowness and the food was not particularly hot. Titty discovered "fixing it" meant her glass was never filled, although the waiter always appeared to pour wine in it. The conversation was stuffy, and centred on either shooting and fishing or, mostly, the social activities of the area. Any attempt to broaden conversation was thwarted by Lady McCulloch, who brought it back to the social scene. Titty was bored. At the end of the meal Lady McCulloch suddenly and quite audibly said, "Of course, we are all hoping Robert wouldn't continue to befriend you. Fiona his first wife is far and away more suitable for him, and is available if only he wasn't so stiff necked." 

There was a chilling silence. 

Titty gazed at her with her level brown eyes, they narrowed, burning with suppressed anger, and she said with cold distain, "I'm sorry, but this time round he chose me."

The icy silence lengthened.

Eventually the laird said, "Gladys, that was uncalled for." 

Robert had hovered looking furious. And almost as soon as coffee had been served, and drunk almost in silence, the evening broke up. 

As Titty turned to go upstairs, Robert said, "I'll be up in ten minutes."

She had no sooner got to her room than Mary was there to see to her needs. Titty said, "Thank you for fixing the meal for me." 

Mary's comment shocked her. 

"Thank you," she said, "We don't get too many of those comments round here, except from Master Robert recently, and now we know where it comes from. And that put down of her ladyship has already done the rounds, 'chose me' that told her." It was said with a bitter venom Mary made no effort to conceal, and the force shocked Titty.

Mary disappeared. Almost immediately there was a knock, and when Titty opened the door Robert was there. "May I come in?"

Titty said, "Of course, why not?" 

Robert looked at her and came in, sat in the only chair, gathered her in his arms and said, "I'm so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?"

Titty said, "There is nothing to forgive. I got a bit of a warning." 

She kissed him full on the mouth. He put his arms round and drew her firmly on to his lap, and said, "It's all fixed up. My step mother seldom surfaces before eleven, by which time you and I will have moved out to my sister-in-law's at the Lodge. You'll find things are more relaxed there. There are still servants of course, I should have warned you, but Mary will be there, word is you've hit it off. My Dad's idea."

Breakfast at eight was a much more cheerful affair, and the Laird was profusely apologetic that, as he put it, Titty had to move on. They went in Robert's old Riley. The idea that you needed to go by car to somewhere that was still within the estate was a bit beyond Titty, but the lodge was four miles up the road. It was an old house, large by Titty's standards, with mullioned windows and a low front door. They were welcomed by Roz, Davie's wife, a tall powerfully built woman with laughter bubbling out of her and a brisk manner. They were treated to coffee and biscuits. Davie was there. he was tall, more distinguished looking than Robert, and he limped. He treated Titty with an old world courtesy. 

To Titty's alarm Roz said, "You men go off and fish, and talk your talk. Titty and I will walk round the estate together." Within fifteen minutes she had relaxed. Roz was fun, including being caustically outspoken about her mother- in-law. There had been no getting into a car, and Titty was provided with a knapsack, a flask and sandwiches. They were ready to leave at the same time as the men, and Roz said, "Coffee and scones at 5 and no later."

Davie said "OK, love," and gave her a kiss as Robert did Titty.

As they walked Roz told of the struggle Robert had had to convince his father he wanted to be a doctor, and how nothing was going to stop him. Just how disastrous his first marriage had been, how all his friends had been appalled at the situation, and how it was well known by everyone that his marriage had collapsed at the end of the first week. 

They climbed up through trees to a moor, and then on to a cairn where they had lunch. The sandwiches were plain and there was a chunk of fruitcake that only just didn't come up to cookie's standards, but was good all the same. On the way back they stopped off at the saw mill and Titty was given a tour by the foreman. It was Roz's turn for a surprise. The foreman said, "Excuse me ma'am, aren't you the young lady they call the 'little lass'?"

Titty confessed she was, and went on, "Please don't call me ma'am, my name's Titty."

The foreman smiled and said, "Yes, Titty." 

He asked, "Have you been running this season?"

Titty told him, "I've raced a couple of times, and there is a big race in three weeks' time."

As soon as they had come away, Roz asked, "What's this about being called the 'little lass'?

Titty was forced to explain the tale of how she had helped Chris off the climb, and how the journalist had made a big story of it. It was news to Roz that it was then that she had first met Robert. Then Titty told Roz how the journalists in the south had found out and called her that too. Roz asked, "What's all this about running?"

Titty said nonchalantly, "Oh, I do a bit of running." 

But Roz was beginning to get the measure of Titty and was not so easily fooled. She asked, "What does that mean?" 

By the time they got back to the Lodge, she had got from Titty how successful a runner she had been the season before, and how she wasn't much good on the track. Even how she trained with the marines at Shotley. 

When Titty got upstairs a hot bath had been run and she washed the mud off. The servants' grapevine was working overtime, and Mary already knew she was the 'little lass' and all that went with it. When Titty asked if she needed to dress up for scones and coffee she was told, "No, it's just tea and is very casual, we all go." 

Titty was thankful and interested. iIt seemed very different from the stiff formality of the castle, as it was called. Indeed it was, they all sat round the big kitchen table. She had her leg pulled by the cook and a male servant, and there was a lot of laughter especially as Roz was stiff and complained about having been walked off her feet. But the conversation was interspersed with insructions about he next day's duties. Then Roz said, "Davie, you show Titty round the house, I want a word with Robert."

When Robert said, "Now I'm in for a wigging," everybody had laughed. 

Davie took Titty off round the house, parts of which were much very much older than the castle which had built in early Victorian times. The building had many corners, and it was evident that David loved the place and was slowly turning it into a rambling home, full of interest, for his young family. At the same time it was being modernised, having had electricity installed with a generator in the outhouse, and modern plumbing was slowly being fitted. Davie told Titty about the sawmill, and how it had been there as long as anyone could remember, and had been a sawpit. They were now installing modern machinery after the site had been neglected for years. David told her how some families had lived and worked on the estate for centuries. He considered some of the foresters and gillies had a knowledge and understanding of the countryside that was unrivalled. 

As soon as they were alone Roz turned to Robert. He said before they began, "What's wrong with my Titty?"

"Wrong?" said Roz with some scorn, "She's the best thing that's happened round here since I had the good sense to cart Davie off."

"Really," Robert said.

"Robbie, she's absolutely gorgeous. I suppose you know she's already got every employee on the estate eating out of the palm of her hand. Bruce up at the sawmill is no soft touch, but I sent her off with him and he came back round eyed for some reason. So I got out of him she was known as the 'little lass' and that she ran competitively - his nephew thinks she's great. And he'd obviously enjoyed himself no end. Then when I had her to myself I got more from her. You might have told us!"

Robert asked, "Why did our step mother have to be so bitchy?"

Roz said caustically, "Because that's what she is."

Robert said, "And I'm worried, or rather Titty is about clothes."

"Clothes," said Roz contemptuously, "What do clothes matter, she's lovely. If you were ever such a fool as to let that little treasure ship slip through your clumsy fingers, I'd never speak to you again."

He asked, "Why?"

Roz said, "Why? Because she worships you and will rebuild you even more than she's done already. But don't you ever take her for granted, let alone play the fool. She's no softy. If you ever cheated, you'd wished you'd never lived."

Robert grinned sheepishly and said, "Roz, the first time I met her she'd just hauled a bloke twice her size off Buchaille Etive Mor."

Roz said, "So I've learned this afternoon. I had to be told by Bruce. Nor did you tell you were bringing the English university cross champion to tea. But I found that out, too." 

Robert said, "What I was also going to tell you was that she walks about knowing heaps of stuff the Germans would love to know. When we were in Lucerne last, there was one Hans who thought he'd charm her into his bed. When that failed he thought he'd resort to strong arm stuff. It was all to get out of her what she knew. Myself and a colleague were approaching from opposite sides and she was so quick neither of us know what she did, but when we reached him he was on the floor with a broken arm and Miss Innocent was sauntering away down the corridor as if she'd done nothing at all."

Roz's eyes were dancing. "Good for her. Can I tell Davie?"

Robert said laughing, "Of course. Those marines down at Shotley did not just run with her, they taught her things no respectable young lady should ever know."

"Crumbs, yes, I can see that little tigress doing that. But hey, silent one, why didn't tell us all this before?" Roz raised an eyebrow, and then added, "As for clothes, just leave that with me."

"Thank you, Roz," Robert said.

Roz said still laughing, "I still say, just you keep a firm hold on her."

"Yes, Roz."

They were still laughing when David and Titty rejoined them. 

After a while they went upstairs to dress for dinner, and Mary again did Titty proud. Dinner at Roz and Davie's was a relaxed affair taken in a corner of the drawing room with its old comfortable furniture, paintings and books. Unlike the laird's dinner table, conversation ranged widely and Titty enjoyed herself no end. To Roz's delight Titty became animated. She giggled, laughed, her eyes sparkled and she talked away as though they had been friends for years.

Later, as they were preparing for bed, Roz and David conversed.

Roz asked, "Well, Davie, what do you think?"

David said, "You had longer than me with her, what do you think? I didn't think she was so bad? Better than Fiona, anyway."

Roz said, "Not so bad! That's an insult. She's a darling, she'll be the making of Master Robert. Have you noticed he's already more relaxed? All the hurt of that disastrous marriage is being dissipated. In spite of all that Gladys could do to queer his pitch! I loved it at dinner when she forgot to be shy."

"What about clothes? That black skirt and white blouse looked lovely tonight, but it won't do for a formal do."

Roz said scornfully, "And I thought women were cats. You leave her clothes to me, and when Mary and I have finished with her at the New Year she'll turn every male head in the room. They'll surround her like flies."

David grinned at her, "Alright, I'll leave it to you."

Roz went on. "I'll throw something else into the pot. The jungle drums have been doing overtime. Word is among the servants is that Master Robert's girl is all right. Their assessment is not to passed off as worthless. Bruce recognized her instantly. He knew what Robert hadn't told us. I got out of Titty that she is currently the women's university cross country champion. If ever he could choose a women the opposite of Fiona, then he has."

Robert said, "You were not the making of me," and gave her a long kiss.

But Roz hadn't finished. She said, "Oh, there was a good base there. I told Robert if he ever cheated on that lassie he'd face a firestorm the like of which he'd never experienced. He told me a tale that while they were in Lucerne a German laddie presumed too much, and he ended up on the floor. She's quite a lass."

David grinned, "It'll do him good to meet his match, Oh, and I don't mean the German."

After a day or two Robert and Titty went off and stayed at a quiet hotel on the road to the Isles, and they did the Five Sisters in winter, and climbed. 

Titty was leading a climb early in the day. A grizzled man joined Robert at the foot of the face and said, "Hallo, Master Robert, how are you?" 

Robert said, "I'm well, Alan. And you?"

Alan said, "I'm grand, thanks." He looked up the face watching Titty. "My, yon lassie knows what she's about."

Robert grinned and said, "Good, isn't she?"

A younger man joined his companion. "Hi Robert."

"Hi Robin." 

Robin was looking up the face watching Titty belay. He said, "Of course, the little lass, she's yours isn't she."

Robert grinned, "If she's anyone's she's mine, yes."

Robin said, "You're a lucky lad."

"I am." 

Just then the call came down from above, "Climb when you're ready."

"Climbing!" Robert shouted, and set off for Titty's stance.

They climbed close to one another all day and walked back to their cars together. Robin said to Robert when Titty was out of earshot, "Dad'll be pleased as punch to have met the little lass, I'll never hear the last of it. I told you were lucky but she's good, really good and safe as houses. It's a privilege to have met her. When are going to bring her to meet us all?"

Robert said, "The plan is we are to come up at Hogmanay."

Robin looked at Robert and said, "Good, I shall look forward to it."

That afternoon Robert drove Titty back to Edinburgh and put her on the night train back to London. 

Shortly after Titty got back to Cambridge, Mrs Walker received a telephone call from Scotland. A Scottish voice said, "Mrs Walker, this is Roz McCulloch. I'm Titty's sister-in-law to be." They had chatted for a few minutes, and Roz said, "Mrs Walker, I hope you'll forgive me, but when Titty comes for New Year there will be two formal occasions and I'm told she is worrying her head about what she should wear. I really would love it if her dresses could be left with me, I'd love to dress Titty, but I need her measurements." 

Mrs Walker took a note of what she wanted, and then mentioned the cost. Roz had given a rich chuckle and said "Leave it with me, I own a dress shop in Edinburgh and I'm a very rich woman. To dress Titty will be a privilege." 

When she spoke to Titty about it, Mrs Walker was grateful to note that Titty seemed quite unconcerned Roz had taken over.

Then it was back to Cambridge. Tittty was racing a fortnight later at Bedford, and on a hilly course in good weather she won. A week afterwards Titty ran again, but out on the course she knew she was below her best and she came ninth. She'd had a hard week, frequently working into the small hours of the morning. Afterwards she talked to Liz and the miler, John, and they advised her not to run when she was so obviously tired. Liz said to afterwards, "It would be no good asking Titty to ease up on the academic work, she wouldn't know how. People think she's lucky. That's nonsense. She's got where she has because she puts in the work. How much, I guess we'll never know. Her running is just a sideline, not that she does not put in every effort, it's just that it doesn't matter so much."

Then towards the end of term came the first indication that Titty was fulfilling what was required of her. It came from Mrs Pritchard. They were together in the lecturers' common room when there was no one else around. Titty was looking at her next week's schedule when she caught Mrs Pritchard watching her. 

Mrs Pritchard said, "Titty, you know you're just doing fine. We are all delighted. You know that, don't you?"

It was time for some plain speaking, Titty said, "No I didn't, I really didn't. I just been doing the best I could. How was I to know?"

"Have you any idea what your reputation is?" Mrs Pritchard asked.

"No, I have no idea," said Titty.

"You have already built up a reputation for really caring about the students who you tutor, and being very understanding of their point of view." Mrs Pritchard smiled, and added, "And woe betide the student who arrives at your tutorials unprepared. They don't do it again, I gather."

"I'm not that bad, surely," said Titty worriedly.

"Is that why one student told Mr Roberts she had never been asked so many whys in five minutes in her life?" But seeing Titty look anxious, Mrs Pritchard told her, "She went to tell him she hadn't prepared properly. but she thought that as Miss Walker was new, she'd get away with it. I think she soon discovered there was no getting away with anything."

Titty giggled, "I know who that was."

Mrs Pritchard patted her affectionately on the shoulder and said, "Maybe you think you do, but she wasn't the only one. Now, just how many envelopes of translation has the navy sent you this week?"

"Three," said Titty.

"Titty, do you need the money?"

"No, Mrs Pritchard, I don't need it. They just keep on sending me more and more and more." 

Mrs Pritchard asked sharply, "How many did you say it was last week?"

"Three again," said Titty.

Miss Pritchard looked cross, "That's too many. Leave it with me, I shall have a word with a contact I have." 

It was the first time Titty had heard for sure her tutor knew anyone at the Admiralty. She really hoped that Mrs Pritchard could persuade the Admiralty to ease up on the amount they sent her for translation. And indeed, Mrs Pritchard must have contacted them, because there were no more envelopes for a fortnight, and then no more than one a week. Occasionally the Admiralty rang Titty up with extra work, and she was careful not to automatically say yes. 

Nonetheless she was very thankful to get on the train home a couple of days after the end of term. Once there, apart from helping her mother prepare for Christmas, Titty was able to pour out some of her doubts and troubles to her mother. In doing so, she found they were not as big as they sometimes seemed. 

One day they both went up to London together when one of Titty's publishers asked her to go and see them about the next book they wanted translated. Titty took the chance to arrange a visit to the Admiralty. She was surprised at how well she was treated, but she thought at the end of the meeting that they understood each other better than before. It was evident that they seemed under the impression the work they sent her was her only job. They were astounded to discover she was employed as a tutor and did translation work for a publishing house, in addition to her Admiralty commissions. Mrs Walker and Titty did a little shopping, and saw the lights, but neither of them stayed out late and Titty confessed to her mother she did not like London much. 

Back at Shotley she was asked to do an afternoon's translation and she did, but she had brought with her to the office a pack of translation she had completed in a sealed envelope, and asked that it should be despatched to London by the courier. 

The young marine staffing the desk said, "Before this afternoon's out his Lordship will be here. Shall I give it to him?" 

Titty gave him the package. He weighed it in his hand and said, "Titty, this is fairly hefty. Is it all translation?"

Titty said wearily, "The original is there, but there was a lot of it. I only finished it this morning."

"What time was that?" The marine asked.

Titty hesitated. "Three o'clock."

"I thought they were easing up on you?"

"I suppose they thought it was important. It's grim stuff." 

The marine thought Titty looked very tired, and if she'd worked till three in the morning that was hardly surprising. She did her usual exemplary job, but the usual sparkle was not there and she obviously knew it. The Admiral came early and went straight into the discussion after introductions, where, unusually, he sat and listened. He was to take the Frenchmen back to London with him. When the session was over, he needed a few minutes with the base commander. They discussed what was necessary and then the Admiral said, "Titty wasn't herself. Had she been out at a party?"

The Base Commander said shortly, handing the Admiral the fat envelope, "Some party, there was no party unless this is something other than what I think it might be. She finished it at three am this morning. She looks better now than she did first thing. I thought they'd promised to ease up?"

The Admiral took the envelope, slit it open, and glanced down the first page. The Commander could see a thick wedge of hand written pages. The Admiral looked annoyed. "They are giving her far too much, and this stuff should never go to her anyway, it's supposed to be top secret. She should never be responsible for handling stuff like this. I want you to see if she'll agree to see the MO." He looked up sharply and added, "You know the trouble, she's too bloody good." He stomped out with a face like thunder. 

Titty trained next day with the marines as usual, but and as soon as the training officer was back in his office the phone rang, and a clipped voice asked, "How was Titty?"

"Slow, Sir. For her, very slow."

"They're overworking her again," the Commander said, almost to himself. "By the way, I understand that Robert McCulloch will be here on Friday. He is to be treated with every courtesy."

The marine's instructor said, "He will be, Sir."

"Thanks."

After training, Titty had gone to the MO at her mother's suggestion. In a week Robert would be here and she felt in no state to make the best of his visit. The base's Medical Officer had already been told by the Base Commander that Titty was being persuaded to pay him a visit, and gave his patient a thorough check over. He said, "Titty, how often do you work well into the early hours? 

She said, "Quite often."

He said, "Well stop it, you'll have to learn to say no."

She looked up at him and said almost cheekily, "Yes, Sir."

For the rest of the week Titty went to bed early, and by the Thursday when she trained she knew the old energy was back. Besides, tomorrow evening Robert would be here, and Daddy first thing in the morning. 

It seemed a long time till Friday.

Robert drove driven up to the gate just a little uncertain of his reception. Titty had given him a password which he had carefully memorised, but there was no need. He stopped at the barrier, and the marine bent and looked into the car. "Good evening, Dr McCulloch. Drive on, and have a good Christmas."

He did, and a few minutes later stopped outside the Walker's house. Titty had rushed out and into his arms, and she was followed by a tall gangling man in a sweater and slacks. Titty said, "Daddy, this is Robert. Robert, this is Daddy." 

Commander Walker was almost as tall as Robert was himself but slimmer. He had humorous grey eyes, and a face that looked weather beaten, although there was a hint of tiredness round his eyes. 

Robert was appraised and conscious of it. Commander Walker was, he realised, accustomed to appraising people. He must have received reports from both his wife and his children about the man who was courting his favourite daughter. He decided, on first impressions, that the man was as sound as most of most her choices. 

Mrs Walker came out and said, "For goodness let Robert, come and have a coffee. You have just driven the best part of three hundred miles!" 

It contrasted so dramatically with his arrival at his parent's home Robert wanted to laugh.

John arrived the next morning, grinned at Robert, and said, "Joining us in the bear pit?" 

The Walkers' Christmas was an informal affair, and nobody dressed for dinner. On Christmas Eve he and Titty became engaged, and Robert slipped the ring over which he had agonised so long on her finger, to her delight. She kissed him extravagantly. When Titty had taken her three men down to see the river she had shown it off. Once again, it struck Robert just how many people on the base knew Titty, and it was so evident she had many friends on the base.. For once she was neither shy nor modest. There was a simple joy on her face as she showed off her ring. 

For Robert, it was all so different from the last time he had done a similar thing, when Fiona had said, 'not much of a ring from a rich man'. In fact the ring he had given Titty had cost less, but he thought it would suit. He doubted if Titty even thought about how much the stone had cost.

They drove up back up to Edinburgh after Christmas, and had to stay overnight as Robert was required at the hospital to lead a team doing a serious operation. Titty stayed overnight at a small guest house. Then they drove on to Perthshire, to spend Hogmanay with David and Roz. Titty was welcomed by Roz with such a big hug that it surprised even Robert. 

Soon after Titty had gone upstairs to wash and change and say hallo to Mary, Roz arrived with her new clothes and she had submit to a fitting. The clothes intimidated her, they seemed so smart, much more so than anything Titty had worn before. As soon as that fuss was over it was time to have an informal meal, and shortly after Titty was unceremoniously packed off to bed.

As soon as she had safely gone Roz demanded, "What have they been doing to my treasure, she looks worn out!"

Robert had held up his hand and told them, "It mustn't be talked about, but the Admiralty have been piling it on since she came back from Lausanne, and she's been working well into the morning. For weeks as far as I can make out."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" said David.

Robert said, "I'm afraid it does. The outlook is grim I gather, the news from Germany is that re-arming is going on apace. Information is flowing in about it."

Roz said, "Is it fair that Titty knows so much? These translations are so demanding."

Robert said, "No, and nor is it fair she has been passed so much work. According to her father steps are being now being taken to ensure her workload is reduced and that she is not given so much sensitive information. An Admiral found out that his repeated requests had been ignored, so I gather there has been a right royal row about it. And Titty has been told very firmly she has got to learn to say no when they ask her to do too much."

Roz said, "Poor Titty."

Robert said, "Don't forget she has been doing this for years. Of course this has been the first term when she has acted as lecturer and tutor, and just before Christmas I gather she was given a long report stolen from the Germans that should never have been passed to her. But no-one asked for it back, so she somehow coped with it. When it all gets too much she resorts to becoming dreamier than she normally is, and her temper becomes evident." 

Davie said, "I suppose it is because she is small, but she looks far too young to be burdened with such stuff. Then you look a second time and she seems so serious with those big brown eyes. She carries with her an odd sort of authority."

Roz said, "Davie, I didn't know you took so much notice of other women. And, Robert McCulloch, you're a lucky man.By this time tomorrow you'll ken you're luckier."

Robert said, "Is that a threat or a promise?"

Roz laughed, and told her brother-in-law that it was a promise.

In the morning Titty and Robert went out with knapsacks and flasks for a ramble with Roz's and Davie's two young sons. They came back to coffee and scones round the big table in the kitchen. Titty sneaked up stairs, kicked off her shoes, lay down and fell asleep. She woke to find Mary by her bed with a steaming cup of coffee, telling her it was time to dress. Titty thought, 'Here goes, I'm in for it now,' and there was that dress to wear. Roz's choice looked dangerously sophisticated to her eyes.

She just had time to have a good wash, and Mary seemed to do the rest. As she was doing her face Roz breezed in and made some last minute adjustments. The long dress was cream silk and fitted her like a sheath. Mary brushed her hair till it shone, and placed a rose in it. Roz said, "How can you be so slim, you're impossible, when your mother told me your measurements I couldn't believe it! Come on, I'm taking you down to show you off to the men."

Titty said, "I feel strange. I've never had a dress like this. Do I look too smart?"

Roz said, "My darling, you look gorgeous, just I intended you should." She placed a necklace of rubies round Titty's neck from her own collection, and added wickedly, "I've only done that so that everyone will want a similar one and come to my dress shop for it. Hopefully." 

Titty laughed.

Roz took her downstairs, hiding her until they reached the hall where the men were waiting. When Titty stepped inside, David said, "Wow"

Titty blushed, but she was quite unaware of the impact she made, went shyly up to Robert, and asked, "Will I do?"

"Do?" he said, "I shall have all the men in Scotland competing for my share of the attention." He bent, gently kissed her, and took her hand. It was shaking, and it was only then that Robert realised Titty was scared and this was an ordeal. They all went out to Davie's old Rover, and drove up to a big house, even bigger and grander than the castle. The car doors were opened and they were handed out by servants, and a chauffeur came forward to drive the car to a parking area. They climbed the wide shallow steps and went into the vast hall. Roz had warned her friend that Titty was not to be singled out for special attention. But when she entered the dining room with its candles and glittering cutlery she did turn male heads just as Roz had intended all along. In the smoky light of the big dining room the light of the candles caught her burnished hair, and the dress accentuated her slimness.The hostess' widower father had learned that the lass of the Glencoe rescue was going to be there, and had requested to be sat next to her. He went to his daughter, who was talking to Roz, and said, "You didn't tell me she would be the prettiest girl in all Scotland."

His daughter looked at him severely and she said, "Nor did I, now just you remember she's Robert's girl friend and she's shy, so just you behave yourself."

He said, "Yes, I promise, but I am going to enjoy my evening."

His daughter wagged her finger at him and said, "Just you behave yourself. I don't want to end the evening ashamed of you." Turning to Roz, she said, "Isn't she lovely! She seems the very opposite of Fiona. We were all so put out when Robert agreed to marry her. Now he seems to have found himself a very different girl."

Roz said, "She is, but don't imagine she is any soft touch. The stories that are circulating about that girl indicate that beneath that exterior she's tough."

Her friend watched as the men surrounded Robert and Titty, and then said, "Do remember how sad we were when he fell for Fiona? Did he really find this one on Buchaille Etive Mor?"

"Yes," said Roz.

"Is it true she's a brilliant linguist and lectures at Cambridge? She looks far too young."

"Yes, it's all true." Roz went on, "She is reported to have a temper, but all I can tell you is that she can be dreamy, so she won't be as easy to live with as all that. Which is all to the good. Robert needs someone who isn't always going to say yes."

Dinner was called, grace was said, and they all sat down. With Robert on one side and her hostess' father on the other, she forgot to be shy and became animated and chatted away, even giving away that she ran. With the hostess' father interested, it did not take him very long to worm out of Titty that she was still at present the English universities cross country champion. Conversation was both cheerful and varied. 

When they had all gone home his son-in-law teased him, "You managed to get the most desired seat in the house, how did you manage that? I hope you behaved!"

"I didn't have time to get into mischief. Robert has always been an interesting conversationalist and now he's got himself a girl who'll give him a run for his money. I haven't enjoyed an evening like that for a long time. And I even secured a promise that I could have a dance with her tomorrow. I judge Master Robert has not only secured the prettiest girl in England, she is a formidabe puss!"

His daughter said, "According to Roz, that particular kitten has claws!"

Robert took Titty fishing, only to find she wasn't as good at it as she was at climbing, but enjoyed watching Robert. They also went back to the saw mill and talked to Bruce about wood and its uses, and what might be needed to have a carpentry shop. Titty obviously loved wood, and she told Bruce how Roger had made her a desk from off-cuts from the navy's carpentry shop. As they walked back to Davie's and Roz's home Robert began to ask more about Roger, the only member of the family that he had not met. He had been a fascinated onlooker of the conversation Titty had had with Bruce. It surprised him how interested Titty was about wood and what could be done with it. He had watched her fingers as she caressed the sawn timber in the mill.

They got home in time for coffee and scones round the kitchen table,which it was plain was an institution. Titty was more keyed up about the dance than she had been about the meal. Tonight, she felt, was moving into territory that was totally outside any previous experience she had. A society and event she would never have considered going to in her life, had it not been for Robert. In fact she was plain scared. She had gone to Scottish dancing classes in Cambridge, but that she was fully aware that those would have been totally different from the real thing. She submitted to Mary dressing her again, and it was evident that the girl knew what she was about. 

Suddenly Mary said, "You're shaking, you're scared aren't you?"

Titty looked at her and said, "I'm petrified."

Mary said robustly, "There is no need, just let Robert do all the work. You'll be fine." 

That was all very well, but Titty had already promised yesterday's dinner companion a dance, and there might be others. Mary went on, "You ought not to worry. You look lovely, and nobody will expect you to be an expert. Robert is a good dancer and he'll look after you. Davie is better." 

Titty wondered just how Mary knew these things.

When they arrived the dancing had already begun, and Titty observed that people seemed wholly at ease and knew all the steps. When Robert took her on to the floor for the next dance she was relieved Davie and Roz were in the set. 

It was only then that Robert realized how scared she was. When they came together he held her just a little more firmly than necessary, and whispered in her ear, "You're doing fine." 

'But he would, wouldn't he,' thought Titty. but after the second dance she began to think she might just pass muster. Davie claimed her for the next, and she quickly found she did not have to worry. Mary was right, for despite a stiff leg he always managed to place her in exactly the right place to start the next move, and whispered instructions without appearing to do so. Titty finished the set a little breathless. Then she danced with the man who had been yesterday's dinner companion, and that was harder. Then Robert again, and just before the break the old laird. His wife was looking on haughty and annoyed. Titty had garnered sufficient confidence to enjoy herself and loose some of her fears. 

After the break, and dancing with Robert, the laird was there again and Titty realized he was at least as good a dancer as Robert. She charmed him. 

Roz and David were standing together and David said, "He's going to get into fearful trouble for this."

Roz said, "He looks as though he couldn't care less right now."

David said, "I've not seen him enjoying himself like this in a long time."

Looking across the room at her mother-in-law Roz said, "Well, she's never danced with him, has she. And he's always loved dancing. Now he has as good an excuse as he's going to get."

The dance ended, but the laird stayed talking to Titty. Robert joined his brother and Roz. He said, "Dad's enjoying himself."

David said, "We were just saying just that. But he's going to get in the neck when he gets home."

Roz asked, "What's Mrs Walker like? She sounded very nice on the phone."

Robert said, "Slim, tall, upright. She rows as well as anyone I've ever met, and she sails, too. She and Titty compete with the navy folk and win. She looks very young."

Roz said, "In other words, her daughter's mother. I'm really looking forward to meeting this family. They must be quite formidable."

"They are," said Robert.

Titty remained in demand throughout the evening, and whenever Robert did not dance with her there was some other male on hand. When they got home in the small hours she was very tired, and went to bed as soon as they reached the Lodge. In the morning Robert took her back to Waverley for the journey home. On the way, Titty asked him, "Have I disgraced you?"

Robert suddenly realised she was quite genuinely uncertain as to whether she had achieved any success at all. All he could say was, "Titty, darling, you've almost all Scotland at your knees." 

Titty was uncertain if she believed him, andt on the journey home was not so sure. Lady McCulloch's charge came home to her, perhaps it was true, even if Robert had chosen her.

She did not stay long at home, and returned to Cambridge to find that Mr Roberts had fallen ill over Christmas and her duties had been expanded. At her college too she found two envelopes of material for translation from the Admiralty, and two or three days after she returned a third arrived. Titty rang the number she had been given to contact if she was sent more work than she could cope with, and found herself speaking to Mr Dow's secretary. She said she would ring Titty back, and did so, telling her to return one set of papers and spend as long as she needed to complete the other two. Two days later yet another envelope arrived, and so Titty rang Mr Dow's secretary. and again was called back. Mr Dow's secretary instructed Titty to send the envelope back to her, and not the person who had sent it. 

Two days later Mr Dow spoke to Titty and told her that in future, unless the work came with a letter from himself, she was return it to him as she had done the previous two. She was only sent one further unwelcome envelope, and Titty wondered what had happened at the Admiralty, since the amount of work sent suddenly became much more reasonable. She was nonetheless continuously busy, especially when it became clear Mr Roberts would not return until the summer term. 

But Titty did have time to train regularly, and towards the end of January she ran in a senior race as a member of the Cambridge Harriers team. It was run just outside Bedford, on a hilly course in the rain. A leading group of five women of whom she was one broke from the main field. On a long hill at the start of the second lap, Titty tested the group leaders, and when there was no response she drew away. No one followed her and she won by a handsome margin to the cheers of the Cambridge Harriers' supporters. 

Then she received an invitation to take part in an experimental nine mile race for women. So one Saturday afternoon she lined up with forty other women on Parliament Hill Fields, which meant it would be a hilly course. There had been a major race the previous week so the conditions underfoot were treacherous, and as the raca was three laps of the same course there was every likelihood the track would grow worse as the race progressed. 

There was a men's' race being run when the women started, a half marathon. 

Immediately three girls raced away and established a forty or fifty yard gap between themselves and the next bunch of six women, of which Titty was running last. The leaders stayed clear until the beginning of the second lap, when they were absorbed and two of the three were dropped. Two of group of six also fell behind, so the leaders were down to five. Then one girl slipped and fell, nearly bringing Titty down with her. 

Titty sensed if she was to make a move she would have to make it soon. If the race were to come down to a fast finish over the last half mile, she would probably be fifth. There was a long hill and a short, steeper one to follow, so towards the end of the lap Titty went up beside the leader. She responded and then dropped back, was overtaken, and Titty went past all the leading girls. She was rapidly opening up a gap by the end of the lap. At that point she thought the group were catching her and upped the pace, but when she glanced back a second time the gap was much bigger. Titty ran on hard. 

She caused consternation towards the finish as she caught the slowest of the men. There was an immediate effort by the marshals to keep the men to one side while she was passing them, but Titty barely noticed. She began to feel the effects of the long run and dug deep, there were three, then two hundred yards, and finally a hundred. She was guided into the funnel, elated to be winning by such a margin. She ran through, finished, and was gathered up by the Cambridge Harriers contingent. The girl spectators helped her away to the dressing rooms before the next two women ran in. Her victory had been emphatic, and to her embarrassment she was given a huge cheer when she went up to receive her medal. 

The experiment was not repeated, to Titty's disappointment. 

The Harriers went to Sheffield for the next race. The first person Titty met was Maria, who was delighted to see her. They chatted away, and as a result Titty relaxed. The race itself was run over two laps with a long hill at the start of the second lap. Away they went, and a breakaway group formed of ten women who were setting a very fast pace, with Maria and Titty running ninth and tenth. Maria tested the leaders, they responded, and she dropped back, slipping in between Titty and the pack. Then Maria tried again with the same result. 

Titty thought, 'If I break on the hill everybody will expect it, but if I leave it till after the hill I have forfeited my strength.' 

So when Maria dropped back Titty charged past. The leaders were caught unprepared, for they had been expecting hill specialist Titty to go on the hill. At the end of the lap, she was leading, with Maria and two others behind her. She nearly came adrift at a fence, but just managed to stay clear by less than ten yards. The pack were making an effort to catch her downhill, but Titty lengthened her stride, barely in control before she began the long uphill. She gritted her teeth and shortened her stride again, but upped the rate and pulled away, knowing Maria was not that far behind. She dare not look back. But suddenly, right at the top, Titty felt sure she was clear. There was no chance to be sure and she ran on as hard as she could - the finish seemed so far away. It was uphill, but Titty was nearly spent. She was sure someone was catching her, then suddenly they weren't and she chased through the tape, turning to see Maria really struggling in the last few yards.

It was Titty's last victory that season, and had been hard won. After that, Maria came south to race, and to Titty's surprise won on a fast flat course when she herself could only manage a miserable ninth. In the second to last race of the season she was still suffering from a cold and was off the pace, finishing well down the field. Then she went to Newcastle and on a hilly course, but firm going and sunshine, Maria won on her home turf with Titty close behind. They went off to the changing rooms with their arms round each other, and Ralph beside them clearly concerned for them both. The press enjoyed their rivalry, especially as away from the course they were so obviously good friends. 

Mr Dow had been watching that race so Titty was sorry she had not done better. She had made her own way to the start, and therefore was able to have a talk with him afterwards. They went into Newcastle and found a small café where they had a bun and cup of tea, and Mr Dow talked intelligently about athletics. He went on to talk about what Titty had done. Mr Dow seemed to be well acquainted with all that Titty was doing, and asked her if the fact that all Admiralty work now had to be channelled through him had made a different. 

Titty assured him on that point. 

It seemed Mr Dow knew that Mr Roberts was ill, and that Titty had been covering some of his duties. He asked what her plans were for the summer, and Titty told him she expected to run for Cambridge Harriers if they really needed her, but had no plans to race otherwise. She was intending to go to Lucerne, and she hoped to spend time with Robert. It was only then Mr Dow asked her "I had a long piece of piece of translation of 'importance'. Would you do it?"

"How long's long?" Titty asked.

"You'll need to submit it in sections," said Mr Dow. "It will keep you busy through the summer term, I should think. I'll need you to make a personal visit with each section." 

"I'll do it," said Titty. 

"Thanks." Mr Dow said, and then added, "I have already talked to Mrs P., and the Admiralty are paying for a better lock on your bedroom door. I shall have the piece for translation sent to Shotley." 

They continued their conversation, and then went their separate ways. 

It was late when Titty got home, but the train journey by herself gave her the opportunity to review the term before she went home. Back in college, she found she wanted only the lightest of meals, and she continued her reverie. It was almost as if it was the first opportunity to think about what she was doing since the journey home from Scotland. 

She was still attending her English lectures, and she was aware her English had improved, if only because she took time to consider it. Her sessions decoding were relaxing despite the fact of their importance, and the secrecy that surrounded them. The term had been very busy indeed, and there had been few breaks. Titty had only managed to go on one of the term's climbing meets, which had been a disappointment. She had intended to go on three, but some event or duty had clashed with the planned dates. 

And now she had accepted a new responsibility, when she was asked to give a guest lecture just before term ended. It was the first time she had been asked, and it was an important step in her career, but it was not the last time she was asked: she had turned down other invitations to give lectures over the Easter holidays. Now that Mr Dow had found her more work she was thankful she had turned the requests down. Robert had only managed one visit that term, it had been brief, and they had both had prior commitments. But, although he was committed to working over Easter, they were planning to meet afterwards. But their plans were still vague.

Over Easter Robert rang up, and he and Titty agreed to spend four days in the Cairngorms. The weather was against them, and they did very little. However, Robert had some good news. He would be paying regular visits to Addenbrooks, at least two over the next few weeks. It was welcome news, for they would see much more of each other. 

Robert asked her if Titty had heard from Lucerne, but she hadn't. He told her he thought she would. He had a plan for the summer - would she like to spend three weeks exploring up the north west coastal area, backpacking? Robert knew a friend and his girl friend who were considering the idea, and he asked if Titty could think of anyone else who would enjoy it. The only people who came to mind were Ralph and Maria. After racing against one another, they had all exchanged letters. And if Maria could be persuaded in to it, Ralph would agree to come. He was tough enough to cope with such a trek.

Titty returned to Cambridge early, with another invitation lecture to give after the first had been a success. In addition, her essay about English usage still required a lot of work. She settled down to a demanding routine. The continuous demands from the Admiralty no longer arrived, but she spent time working on the report that Mr Dow had given her, some of which she found to be in code. An envelope did arrived without a letter from Mr Dow, and she returned it as she had been instructed. 

Mr Roberts would not be returning, at least at the start of the term. 

Then came an unexpected call from the police to ask if they could come and see her. She wondered what it could be about. Titty knew the University policeman, and had had fleeting contact with him over the Hans affair. This time he asked about her contact with Nancy. Had Nancy ever asked her to accept any large sums of money, or offered her large sums? 

Titty, shocked, told the Inspector she had not heard from Nancy for nearly a year, and that they had never exchanged money. It was all most odd, but Titty gathered Nancy was in some sort of trouble. She rang Peggy, to find she too had undergone a similar experience. All Peggy had heard was that Nancy had lost her directorship and she was no longer friendly with Bernard, who was in trouble with police. When Titty asked about Nancy's ambitions, Peggy said they were in ruins. Peggy mentioned that she hoped to come and see Titty as Rodney was expecting to have to come to Cambridge on business. 

Concerned, later that evening Titty rang Nancy, who seemed alright, and said she hoped to come Cambridge sometime soon and would perhaps be able to meet Titty while she was there. 

Titty thought,'Do I want people coming invading my working space?' Then she gave herself a good shake, thinking, these are your friends, they care about you. She looked round the study where she was working, the chairs by the empty grate, one in particular which Titty found pleasant to curl up in with a book and forget the world. It was as perfect as she had hoped when Mrs Prentice first showed it to her, and in late afternoon and as summer came the sun would flood into the room bringing with it a mellow timelessness. The old desk had its small drawers and secret shelf where she kept her private papers, and Titty sometimes wondered if Roger could fit such a device into her desk at home. 

Then there was the bank of bookshelves which were beginning to fill. So diverse were the subjects any outsider would have wondered what sort of person inhabited this room. Books in French, German and Italian were to be expected, as were dictionaries and grammar. There were books in other languages. History was not out of place. But books about naval and military history and battle strategy, what were they doing there amongst the others? Among the novels were children's' books, lots of them. Titty had become adept at buying second hand books and usually bargained a discount for herself. The Admiralty accepted her need for books about naval strategy, and those she obtained through the Navy clerks. Mr Dow put her wise to sales from time to time. He had even visited her last term when he had come to visit Mrs Pritchard. They liked each other, and conversation flowed easily when they were together.


	21. Nancy makes the Best of It

Nancy gazed out the window at the scene. The airport was bathed in sunshine, and a plane belonging to their neighbours had just taken off. Very shortly Mark would land, having brought a part from Barrow. Six months ago she would have done the Barrow trip. It would have been grand to fly to Barrow and have a chin wag with Georgy Boy. He would have knocked some sense into her. Or would he? Almost every time she had seen him he was warning her to keep her feet on the ground, and now she felt she had let him down. 

She had always said her feet were firmly on the ground, of course, even when she was at her most giddy. Had he known what she was up to, or had someone told him, he might have intervened successfully. But Nancy doubted it. She had, she now recognised, grown impervious to all and any advice. It was too late now, she had blotted her copy book, and only Pete's good sense and application had kept Air Services Limited in being, while only his faith in her meant she had a job. Nancy had given him little cause to have that faith. Even now Mark would hardly speak to her and was chilly towards her, more so than any of the others. Her relationship with Mr Hughes had been renewed, and he confided in her that in hindsight he thought she had been given too much authority too soon. But in hindsight, it was easy to see the mistakes one made. Why, oh why had she mucked it up? Peggy had more responsibility than her and now had every chance of being given more, even if she was still earning less than Nancy. 

But she had mended fences with Peggy, and now she needed to go to Cambridge and see Titty. When last at Peggy's, her sister had shown Nancy an article about the cross country season. It mentioned the great rivalry between Titty and a woman from the north east named Maria. How on cross country courses they competed fiercely with one another for the honours, but were the best of friends as soon as the race was over. The article mentioned that Miss Walker's dedication to her academic work, not studies Nancy noticed, meant she had been excluded from the national team. Nancy wondered what Titty was like these days. Would she be too grand to mix with someone such as herself? It was unlikely. Titty, too, might drum some sense into her. It hurt, that dreamy Titty might have shown more common sense than she had.

Nancy turned back to her ledgers and continued with her usual duties. She took a call from Thompson's, they wanted a piece of machinery flown to Glasgow that afternoon. Mark should have plenty of time to do the job so she accepted it, and Thompson's said they would deliver the part in a quarter of an hour. But when Mark flew in he said he did not feel well, and was going home. He showed no interest in the Glasgow job and disappeared: he was as short with Nancy as he normally was. She had agreed to do the job, so Nancy decided she would take it herself. It took a little longer to prepare than she had anticipated, because Mark had been nearly out of fuel. 

However, it was a balmy early summer evening, and Nancy enjoyed the flight. It had been at least a fortnight since she had last flown, and on afternoons like this to feel the wind in her face and skim over the border hills was lovely. She missed flying so much. 

The chap collecting the part she had met many times before, and knew things had gone wrong for her, but had shown no animosity. It was not so with everyone. He had brought with him a big roll of drawings and asked if she could take them back with her. So Nancy stuffed them into the rear cockpit and he helped her tie them down. She flew home revelling in the sense of freedom flying gave her, and looking down she thought, 'This area is beautiful, but I've never explored it at all." She did not race the plane home in the way she would once have done. 

In the evening Pete rang her to say that Mark had been in touch and would be taking a couple of days off sick. Could she fill in for him? 

Nancy said she would, and spent the next three days flying, once to Birmingham and then on to Nottingham. Then on Friday, to Millom. Pete had grinned at her and said, "Now you'll not escape a good telling off. Georgy is not pleased with you at all!" 

Pete was quite right. There was no particular hurry for there was no more booked work to do, so Nancy had no excuse to escape back to Newcastle. Georgy quizzed her about all that had happened, and Nancy made no attempt to justify herself. He merely said, "You've been a fool, Nancy."

Nancy looked at him sadly and said, "I have. Looking back on what I did, I cannot imagine what I thought I was doing. How on earth did I think I would get away with it? It was so obvious that sooner or later everything would come back and bite me where it hurts."

Georgy had looked at her bleakly and then changed his tune. "Tell me. What are you doing to put things right?"

Nancy told him she had toned down her social life, she had no boyfriend, and she was training hard with the tennis players. And that she had repaired her fences with Peggy. She told him she saw no reason why Pete should have stood by her, and she was grateful to him for having done so. 

Georgy asked about Mark, and commented, "He isn't well. I don't know what's wrong but something is. Whether it has got anything to do with the Hindley affair, I don't know." 

While she was at Millom, Nancy had a phone call from their agent and flew across to Lancaster, and then back to Newcastle. After three days out of the office she had a lot to catch up. She went in at seven on Saturday morning, and worked on well past lunchtime. Pete was still there, and Nancy went in to say she was going. 

Pete said, "I'm hoping to have a couple of days off the week after next, and there is a lecturer wanting to be flown to Cambridge late on Wednesday. I wonder if you'd like to do the job? It would give you a chance to meet Titty. I take it she's still at Cambridge?"

"She is," said Nancy, "And I'd love to have the chance to visit her. According to Peggy she has a lot on her plate - she's part lecturer and part tutor, and does all sorts of other things."

Pete said, "My athletics magazine reports she had done well towards the end of the season, but the selectors won't pick her for the British team because she puts her academic work first."

Nancy commented, "That sounds just like Titty."

Pete said, "That's what I thought." 

After the rumpus at Easter Pete had forecast that they would loose a lot of work and struggle to regain it. He had been right, this time his pessimism had been fully justified. He had worked very hard to repair the business and it now had a better base, but they still needed more work. They seldom needed Giles Broadbent's services, and Mark did not seem to work very hard, yet there were still times when there was nothing to do.

Nancy was always busy, because the checks they had introduced took time to complete. Whereas once she would have done these in a cursory fashion, now she took her time and did them with considerable care. She was also meticulous about maintaining the books. She kept a careful check of her own money. It took a lot of self discipline to keep within the spending limits she had set herself.

She rang Titty that evening and Titty sounded really pleased to hear from her. She wasn't free on the Wednesday but could meet Nancy Thursday afternoon and her evening was free. Nancy had to tell her she could not say when she would be free on Thursday, but would let her know later. Titty said she would be in, and if Nancy went to the porters' lodge the porters would find her. 

It so happened that the lecturer was late leaving, and Nancy did not reach Cambridge until eight in the evening. The place where she stayed had a folder of events. She found a flyer of lectures and conferences where there was a mention of the conference the lecturer was attending, listing him as one of the speakers. She was about to turn the next page when a note about another lecture caught her eye. That Wednesday Miss Titty Walker would give a lecture about the French language as used by novelists of the nineteenth century. The price of tickets at £1 each astounded Nancy. 

'Not available, my foot,' Nancy thought. 'She's giving a lecture. I'll....' 

Nancy was thinking she'd tease Titty and tell her off for not telling her about it, but decided it would be wiser not. She rang the college and left a message to say she expected to be with Titty between two and three. There were bookings to do first: Nancy flew to Norwich and then Lowestoft, and then back to Cambridge. She arrived in time for a sandwich and a cake before getting a bus into Cambridge town and finding her way to the college. There she went to the lodge and the porter said immediately, "You'll be Miss Nancy Blackett." 

She asked, "How did you know that?"

The proter said, "Miss Titty described you very well. I'll conduct you to her study." 

Nancy knew Titty's room was up several flights of stairs, and was mystified when the porter took her across the courtyard and through a door that said, 'Lecturer's Studies'. He knocked on a door, and Titty's voice said, "Come in!"

When Nancy ducked through the door, Titty was coming out from behind a desk on which there were piles of papers. She said, "Hallo Nancy," and then, "Thank you, Robin, for bringing Nancy across for me."

The porter said, "It's a pleasure, Miss Titty." 

He smiled, and Nancy noticed Titty smiled back. She closed the door, and turned and gave Nancy a hug. "Welcome to Cambridge."

Nancy had to say, "What's all this?"

Titty smiled and said, "This is my study." 

Nancy said, "I thought you had a pokey little room on the top floor."

Titty said, "I do. It's not all that pokey, though it's not as big as this. This is where I work and hold tutorials."

The desk was large, with three piles of foolscap papers on it, two sets filled with Titty's neat script. A book was propped up on the desk with which Titty had obviously been working, but it wasn't in English. Nancy asked, "This is where you work? All these books can't be yours."

Titty said, a little surprised, "Why can't they be mine? In fact they are." 

Nancy looked round the room and out of the windows on to the beautifully manicured lawns. The college took her aback. She had never imagined anything like this. She looked at her friend, the last time she'd seen Titty she was wearing a tight fitting coat and court shoes, before that shorts and the simplest of blouses and boots. Now she wore a tailored beige skirt and a flowered cotton blouse with a scarf. She looked positively svelte. As ever, her hair hung down over her right shoulder brushed and shinning. Titty had grown up though she was no taller, and was as slim as ever. 

Titty had moved to the window, and Nancy noticed she moved easily, almost graciously. She caught sight of the ring on Titty's engagement finger. It was discreet, lovely and looked expensive. On the desk was a photograph of a clean shaven, powerful looking man in an open necked cloth shirt, with black eyes that stared boldly out of the picture under straight black brows, a man to be reckoned with. Then she realised Titty was laughing at her. Titty said softly, "I'm no longer just a student you know, though I'm that too."

Nancy said, "I know, but somehow I didn't expect you to be like this."

Titty smiled, produced a kettle and two mugs, and asked, "You do still have your coffee black?" She switched on the kettle and sat Nancy down in the chair beside her desk, while she tidied and put away her papers. 

Nancy noticed she locked the drawer. 'What would it be like?' wondered Nancy, 'If you were a student being watched by Titty, with her brown eyes and firm chin?' Nancy thought, 'She has an aura of authority, someone whom it wouldn't be easy to hoodwink.' She wondered if the students ever felt the bite of that famous temper, and guessed they did. 

The kettle boiled, and Titty poured coffee and got up and went to the window. Nancy followed her. From behind the curtain Titty produced a tin of biscuits, and Nancy took one and ate it hungrily. Titty asked, "Now. What are you doing with yourself these days?"

Nancy told her how she did fly occasionally, like today, but mostly she spent her days in the office. She looked sideways at Titty and said, "I've come down in the world."

"I don't want to hear about all that, unless you want to tell me," said Titty.

Nancy said, "Most people want to hear all the gory details of what a fool I've been."

Titty said, "Well, I don't, unless you need to tell me. I'll always remember you telling us Captain Flint never asked you how you fell down. I've always tried to remember that. What I want to hear is about what you're doing. I know you haven't stopped flying, which is what I was told."

"I don't fly often, these days," said Nancy.

Titty pointed out, "You had the day before you phoned me, and you've flown here this morning. It can't be that bad?"

So Nancy told Titty how she had been glad to offered a job at all, and how she was enjoying the office work and keeping the books straight. And how Pete had fixed it for her to come to Cambridge. She commented, "Pete has been very good to me."

Titty wanted to know about Nancy's social life, and so Nancy was persuaded into telling her about how she enjoyed club tennis and winning the Whitsun trophy. She told Titty of her coffee evenings with Rosemary and her friends, and the fun they had.

Telling Titty what she did and how she was enjoying it made Nancy realise anew what a good time she was having. Finally, she could contain herself no longer, and asked, "Is that photograph on your desk Robert?"

Titty had giggled, but she sparkled a little and said, "Of course it is. Who did you think it was?" and then, "How about if I take you and show you round the grounds and the nearest colleges? Then we'll come back here and have a wash, and I'll take you to dinner." 

They did, while Titty asked more questions about what Nancy was doing. They were passed some students who said, "Good evening, Miss Walker." When Nancy looked back, it was obvious the studentss were talking about them, but Titty did not seem to notice

Titty told Nancy about some of Roger's adventures, and about the concerts Bridget played. She told Nancy about Susan and her two lively boys who were a bit of a handful, and how Roger was always suggesting improvements to engines and was now a second officer in a big cargo ship with - he says it's very imporatant, said Titty - an oil fired, rather than a coal fired boiler. Things about which Titty seemed to understand a least a little, but anyway a lot more than Nancy did. Titty also told her about some of the places John had been. She asked things about Newcastle, and told Nancy about running there. Nancy became a little confused as to who Maria and Ralph were. But she slowly worked out that Maria was both a friend of, and a rival to Titty, and that she did not like climbing so Titty climbed with Ralph. 

Titty took Nancy to the same little restaurant in a back street where they had been before. It was friendly, and the food was delicious. 

It was only afterwards, when Nancy got back to her lodging house, that she realised Titty had told her very little about herself or about John. Nancy couldn't work out quite how she'd done it. She thought, 'I feel much better about myself.' Somehow Titty had looked on the bright side, and at one point she had said, "Pete did not desert you. He has stuck by you, when others kicked you when you were down." 

But the overriding impression Nancy came away with was that Titty had changed, far more than anyone else she knew, and adulthood suited her. In one sense she still seemed shy and modest, but in another she was confident, even formidable. Those brown eyes had observed Nancy in a way that made her feel almost uncomfortable. They were unflinchingly severe one minute, and soft and beguiling the next, and somehow her face showed her father's air of authority. Yet Titty had laughed and giggled like a well adjusted schoolgirl, and somehow managed to direct all the conversation away from herself and what she did.   
Nancy reflected she knew no more now about what Titty was doing than when she had first been shown into the study. 

What she was conscious of was of coming away a lot happier than she had been. Over dinner, Titty had posed a question, "What are you going to do in the summer? Are you going on holiday, and if so, where?" 

Nancy had not even thought about it. 

Then, during the week that followed her visit to Cambridge, Pete asked the same question.

Had either of them asked the question before Easter, Nancy thought, 'I would have said I'd go off somewhere with Bernard to London or Blackpool or Brighton. I'd have gone and done the amusements and spent the evenings drinking and dancing.' Now that was out of the question. Apart from anything else, she had no longer the money to do it, and of course there was no Bernard. Peggy and Rodney were going again to North Wales walking. Whatever Titty might be going to do Nancy had no idea, something with Robert probably. 

A weekend later, Rosemary solved the problem for her. A group of girls were hoping to spend a week in Devon, and they had arranged to play tennis against some local girls. Husbands and boyfriends were going too, some to play tennis, and others to stand by in support. One of girls had dropped out, and Rosemary asked Nancy, "Would you care to come in her place?" 

Nancy grabbed the chance. Rosemary told her that on the last Saturday of the holiday there were a series of matches for a shield, and they would come home on Sunday. It was not that expensive, active, and all organised. It seemed ideal for Nancy, and she said she would like to make up the numbers. 

As the summer came on Air Services Ltd began to be just a little busier picking up business here and there. One major client of the old days returned, bringing with them the accolade that they had found no service more reliable. Then Pete told her the lecturer she had flown to Cambridge was asking if they could fly him there on a Friday night, and back on a Sunday evening. Pete told her, "He isn't certain yet, but were he to go, would you like to take him and see Titty again?" 

Nancy had said an unhesitating yes, only afterwards thinking that perhaps Titty would have already left Cambridge for home or a holiday.

She went to Peggy's for a weekend, sleeping on Mrs Pound's floor. Peggy was to run at Grasmere sports meet while Rodney played cricket in Kendal. Mr and Mrs Pond were going, so they would all go in their small car. It was something interesting to do, something Nancy had never done. There had been a sports day in Rio every year, but the Swallows and Amazons had never been. Besides, Nancy had never seen Peggy run, at least not since school. 

First thing in the morning Peggy took Nancy round to see the outside of the house she and Rodney were buying in Kendal. It looked smaller than hers, and Peggy said it needed some repairs, but Mr Pound would do that for them. In fact Peggy seemed quite keyed up, and Nancy realized the race, over half a mile, meant more to her than Nancy had imagined. 

In fact Peggy came second, a better result than she expected, and she got a medal for her effort. After the race she was more relaxed and Nancy told her about her visit to Titty. She learned Peggy and Rodney were hoping to go to Cambridge in a fortnight's time, staying from Wednesday to Friday, so Peggy was agog to hear all she could. When she heard Nancy's description she was even more eager to see Titty's study. Peggy knew little more about Titty than Nancy had managed to find out. 

"You know, you told me about seeing Titty in London that time," said Peggy. 

Nancy was not very happy to be reminded about that weekend. It all seemed a very long time ago, but she listened. 

Peggy went on, "You saw her outside some offices with a gentleman. Well, apparently she translates books for a publisher."

"What, proper books?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, apparently she has been doing it for some time, even before she got her degree. That's not all. You remember Donna from school whose father knew John?"

"Yes," said Nancy, "But only just."

"Well, she told me that Titty has built herself a reputation translating for the Admiralty, and they use her all the time. About six months ago they were giving her so much work that there was a row about it. Titty stood her ground and sent work back saying she hadn't time to do it. She had an Admiral on her side."

Nancy said, "I knew she did translation at Shotley, but I didn't know she did any more."

"Well, she does. And some of what she does is secret stuff. Apparently," Peggy said, "She got involved in a fight with a German fellow trying to get secrets from her. The German fellow got the worst of it, and had to be carted off to hospital."

Nancy said, "But Titty is tiny."

Peggy said, "I'm only telling you what I was told."

Nancy said, "Do you think she gets paid for doing translation?"

Peggy told her, "Well according to Donna, her father told her there was a row about that too. They were not paying her enough. I know she got a lot for the work she did in Lausanne, and of course all her expenses were paid."

"That explains the clothes." said Nancy.

"No, it doesn't really. I've told you before Titty does care about clothes, she just gets this lady in Ipswich to make them for her," Peggy said.

"She looked quite smart when I saw her," mused Nancy. 

It had been a long time since Nancy had enjoyed meeting Peggy as much as she did that weekend.

She had begun to regain her confidence. One Thursday evening Rosemary was not at the tennis club, so Nancy invited two friends of hers, Anne and Phillipa, back to her house for coffee and tea, Anne always had tea, and biscuits. They were gone before ten, and reflecting, Nancy decided she had enjoyed the quiet evening as much as she had the rowdy hockey dinners. Anne in particular was interesting. She had left school with no qualifications, and gone to work for a small engineering company where she had begun as little more than a tea girl. She now worked as a draughtswoman, the only girl among the men. She was a good tennis player and she and Nancy had had some excellent games together. Neither Anne nor Phillipa had ever asked Nancy how it was she fallen on hard times, but just accepted her for what she now was. 

Thursday training nights became a highlight for Nancy. 

The weekend afterwards, almost by accident, Nancy found herself competing in the club singles completion and the all female doubles with Anne. Fortunately, these games were scheduled to be played every other weekend.

It was on that Saturday morning that Pete told her that the lecturer had asked if he could be flown to Cambridge again in three weekend's time. He wanted to be there late on the Friday afternoon, and come back on the Sunday. Pete said, "I thought you might like to see Titty again?" 

Somewhat uncertainly, Nancy rang Titty to see if she was free at the weekend. to find that she was free from Saturday lunchtime. If Nancy came to the porters' lodge again, Titty would take her to lunch. "Was there," she had asked, "Anything that you wanted to see or do?" 

Nancy said there was not, wondering if she should have thought of something. But she was looking forward to the weekend. It was the first real break she had had since the Hindley hiatus, except for seeing Peggy. This time she really would try and find out what Titty did, if she could. 

On the day the professor arrived rather late, and was profuse with his apologies. It was a lovely summer evening, and indeed the forecast for the weekend was really sounded very well. The flight to Cambridge was one of those times when to fly was to see the best of the Britain countryside. 

On Saturday morning Nancy went back to Pete's plane, gave it a good clean, and found a seat by the hanger. She completed some of her clerical work, thinking it was pleasant place to sit. finished, she caught a bus into Cambridge, but still arrived early. She decided she would see if Titty was available so went to the lodge, she was surprised they recognised her and called her Miss Blackett. "Miss Blackett, I'll take you straight to Miss Titty, she's working in her study." 

Nancy wondered how they knew. Whereas once she would have felt that she would not have liked people knowing what she was doing, now she felt differently. The porter knocked and Titty's voice said, "Thank you, Peter. Come in, Nancy."

This time Titty smiled, but did not get up. She was obviously working on some papers, and while she finished the paragraph she was writing Nancy sat in the chair in front of the desk. Nancy wondered what it would be like if you were a student who had not done what you were supposed to have done. Looking across the desk at her friend, she thought Titty looked positively formidable. When Titty stood up, she looked smarter than ever in a white summer blouse and brown slacks. She put on the kettle and made coffee, and again produced biscuits. "How long have you been working on that paper?" asked Nancy. 

Titty said, "Oh, an hour or so. I had to give a lecture this morning to a conference of people here to talk about engineering problems."

"How often do you have to do that sort of thing? I thought you only lectured to students?" asked Nancy.

"Oh no, there are always people who want to hear about something I'm supposed to know about. So I just say yes and do the best I can." 

When they had drunk their coffee and eaten a rather fancy biscuit, Titty suggested "Lets go to lunch where I took you before, and then if you would like it I'll show you round the colleges?" 

Nancy agreed very readily to that. They had a light snack and then set out. Titty obviously knew her way around, and somehow succeeded in making it far more interesting than a set tour, telling Nancy about people past and present who had attended the colleges and also funny little anecdotes. There was a good deal of laughter. Some of the stories were a little risqué, other stories referred to things students had done like climbing towers and over roofs. As they were walking around, it also became evident Titty was known by quite a few people, some of whom called her Miss Walker and others Miss Titty. What Nancy had thought might be boring, ended up being a hilarious afternoon. 

They ended back in Titty's study, and somewhere Titty had bought some little cakes to have with their coffee. Plates were produced from a cupboard. Titty had already booked a table for two at a Cambridge hotel and dismissed Nancy's suggestion that they should share the cost with the statement, "I've had a good month. I won first prize for an essay I did about the English novel." 

Nancy asked, "I thought you only did languages?"

Tittysaid airily, "I get up to all sorts now I've got my degree."

Nancy asked about Lucerne, and Titty told her a lot about the surrounding countryside, what the college did, and what it was like to stay there. She told Nancy that Robert usually managed to go, and how they usually only managed to meet for the evening meal. She told Nancy that she had been asked to go this year for three weeks, but sadly Robert would only be there for one. 

Nancy was envious, but back at the guest house she realised she had gained little grasp of what Titty did except that she lectured. Nor, to her dismay, had she really found out anything about Robert. There on Titty's desk was that photograph of a man in casual clothes with a rather fierce face, whose fierce coal black eyes and laughter lines made him look a good deal older than Titty. He didn't look the gentle sort of person Nancy had always imagined him to be. It seemed hard to credit that Robert had been divorced and then fallen for Titty. The ring that Titty was wearing was very attractive and suited her, and looked very expensive. 

On Sunday morning she and Titty met by Magdellan.Titty had brought a picnic. Nancy had jumped at the chance of a row on the Cam, and had asked if she could row. She followed Titty's instructions and they came to a place where they could pull in. Titty had been there before, and secured the boat to a tree. 

Nancy felt she had been very attentive, but she had found out nothing about what Titty really did. She gave up all pretence and told Titty about her visit to London, and how she had seen Titty twice. She finally asked her, "What do you do? I mean, what does someone like you do at Cambridge?"

Titty had chuckled and said, "You've been dying to find that out all the weekend, haven't you?"

Nancy was somewhat abashed, but Titty was laughing, her eyes were sparkling, and she had an impish expression. Nancy thought, 'No wonder men fall for her, she is so pretty when she looks like this.' 

Titty had turned serious. She said, "I'm not telling you what I was doing at the Admiralty, except that now I am nearly always doing translation for them. Off and on I've worked for them for years, since just after leaving school. Mostly what I do here is lecturing about foreign languages and writing, mostly French and German, but other languages as well. I translate novels and non fiction - mainly French and Italian. I've been allocated students whom I tutor, but that is partly because one of the lecturers is off sick so they've passed his work on to me. The chap you saw me talking to near Trafalgar Square is a publisher. I translate books for him, and I always have a book I'm working on, sometimes two. Then. like yesterday morning, I do guest lecturing now and then."

"Do you get paid for doing all this?" Nancy asked.

Titty surprised her, "Oh yes, sometimes quite a lot. Last year I got a lot for what I did at Lucerne. But of course, because I'm young I cannot demand the kind of fees that older and more experienced lecturers do."

"Then did you say you got money for an essay?" asked Nancy.

Titty said, "Yes, I get extra bits here and there. Apart from what I do for the college, I don't get a salary. So what I do depends upon the quality of the work I've done on the last assignment. Word gets around."

Nancy said, "So is it chance, the amount you get?"

Titty told her, "Oh yes, but I like it that way. I usually name the price and they say if they accept or not. But I've worked for the publisher for so long I just accept what they pay me, although they've never underpaid as far as I know. But it is time we had that picnic and I got you back to the bridge and back for your lecturer." 

On the trip back to the bridge Titty showed she could row like smoke and must be really fit. The boatman knew her, and was ready as she put the rowing boat neatly into the pontoon.

Nancy in fact had an hour to wait for her professor, but she had been pleased to have time to reflect upon what Titty had told her. She thought Titty must work very hard indeed, she seemed to have so many irons in the fire. Nancy wondered how she managed to juggle all the different strands of her work. She wondered how much money Titty did really earn. It seemed all very chancy. And it frustrated her she still knew so little about Robert. 

When the lecturer arrived, they took off nearly at once, because the control warned Nancy they were expecting a number of planes in a race coming in any time. When they were back in Newcastle Nancy asked her passenger if his time in Cambridge had been worthwhile. He told her it had, and how the conference had kicked off with a short lecture about English. "It was," he told her, "Brilliant, funny, punchy, and delivered dead pan. It was brilliant. I must be twice the age of the woman who gave it, and I'm only half as good a speaker. And the only way you knew she was meaning to be funny was to watch her face." 

Nancy had a suspicion she knew who had delivered that lecture, but the lecturer could not remember the name of the person. and it wasn't on the schedule because she had been found to do it at the last minute. The person who was supposed to have given it had dropped out. 

Pete had been considerate in arranging for Nancy to fly to Cambridge, so Nancy took care to tell him all about it. 

Nancy did not fly again until after she had been away for her holiday. The weather was good. She had never been to Devon before, and as they went about a bit she saw different places. She enjoyed the tennis, and had some hard games. Nancy played an older lady and had expected to win, but lost because what the lady lacked in strength and energy she more than made up with the skill with which she played. There were among the younger players two girls who were really good, and Nancy advised them how they could improve their games. Possibly the thing she enjoyed most was swimming in the sea, something she had never really done before. She got to the quarter finals in the matches for the shield, and was then comprehensively beaten by the player who eventually won. Anne did better, she reached the semi final. 

She, Anne and Phillipa agreed that that in the autumn they would like to visit London. The hotel where she had stayed before had been noisy, and this time they had no idea where they might stay. It struck Nancy that Titty must stay in London occasionally, so she rang her. Titty told Nancy that she stayed in a small hotel, but she warned, "It's very quiet, they wouldn't be very happy if you came back in the early hours of the morning. You might find it dull, it's mostly used by people on business. But the food is excellent and I like it." 

Nancy consulted the other two women and Rosemary, who was showing an interest, and they agreed to give it a try. When Nancy rang, the lady who answered did mention the fact they did not cater to people who came back in the early hours. Nancy said she thought they would be going to shows, and if that was acceptable. The lady asked if they would be going on to clubs afterwards, and when Nancy said they would not she said it would be fine. So, Nancy booked for four of them. The lady asked where she had found their name, and when Nancy mentioned Titty the lady said, "Oh, Miss Walker stays about once a month when she is in London on business." So that was another part of the jigsaw that added to the complexity of Titty Walker and what she did.

With the onset of autumn the tennis season ended and the hockey season started again. The previous winter Nancy had played in the first eleven. It had ended disastrously for Nancy with a series of bookings for rough play and other contraventions of the rules, and then a couple bad defeats in the last couple of games. Now her position was very different. Some of the live wires in the 1st eleven had almost dropped their friendship with Nancy, at least it had cooled. Rosemary, Anne and Phillipa all played in the second team, so Nancy made no attempt to regain her place in the 1st content to play in the 2nd. In fact, Nancy concluded after a few games, there wasn't that much difference in the standard of play, the difference lay in the aggression with which the game was played. She remained content to not play with her old ferocity. One reason for this was that the Hindley incident had shaken her self-confidence to the core. The other was that she found herself working very hard indeed. Much of it was very routine and rather dull. Mark was not contributing to the clerical work at all, and most of Pete's time on the ground was taken up with securing more business and ensuring the work they did take on was done properly.. So all the clerical work fell to Nancy. It filled her working hours, and she often found herself going straight from work to the hockey club on Saturdays. 

But before they went to London she had a call from Titty to say that she was coming to Newcastle to run in a cross country race. Titty expected Robert and John to be there. Robert was motoring down from Scotland, and John's ship was expected to be moored on the Tyne for a few days. Nancy told Pete about it and he said, "I knew about that race, if Titty is running I'll go along too. Besides I'd like to see John again." 

When they arrived at the race, Titty was there, but she was trotting round the field warming up. Nancy only just recognised John, who was in uniform as his Captain had been invited to hand out the medals. It was a sunny day with blue skies. John was standing next to a tall dark man Nancy assumed rightly was Titty's Robert, he was taller than John was, and burlier. Nancy suddenly felt shy, but John had seen her and introduced them all round including Ralph, a small swarthy man. John explained that Ralph was the man with whom Titty climbed. He was a native of Newcastle, and the boyfriend of Maria who was likely to be Titty's main rival. 

Both girls arrived together at the race start. When Titty stripped off her tracksuit Nancy was caught out again by how slight Titty was, and with her hair plaited down her back she looked very young and unsophisticated. She had shed the aura of authority. Maria was hardly any bigger. Looking round, Nancy wondered how these two could possibly complete with the other women lining up, all of whom seemed older and stronger than either of them. 

The whistle blew, and away they went in a bunch. It was a two lap race, and the field would pass in front of the spectators just short of the half way point. They could see the leaders across a field; there were two of them, both small. Titty was leading with Maria just behind and they went through the checkpoint with the rest of the field only just in sight. John said to Ralph, "It might be Maria's turn to win. Titty did not intend to be in the lead."

Ralph said, "Maria was hoping for good weather. She knows Titty is virtually unbeatable in bad weather and muddy conditions, especially if the finish is up hill."

It seemed only a short time before the runners appeared again, and now it was obvious both girls were straining to gain the advantage. Nancy heard a man nearby say, "Crumbs, that's a fast time. These two are unbeatable when they are this fast." 

In the end Maria piped Titty in the last few yards, winning by less than a yard. Then Nancy had a shock, she supposed they would stork away from each other but they fell into each other's arms gasping and laughing. The man near by said," Now that's what I like to see, ferocious rivalry, and the best of friends as soon as it's over." 

The men, Pete, Robert, John and Ralph looked on smiling with obvious pleasure. Nancy looked on bemused. It was one thing to be friendly after a friendly game, but Nancy knew she could never be as friendly as that after a serious competition, though she thought it lovely to see. Ralph had seen her look and said, "They really are the very best of friends, they get on so well." 

Nancy then found out that Titty and Robert were staying with Maria's parents. Then, to her surprise, Maria asked both Pete and Nancy back. 

The only person not able to be with them was John, who had to accompany his Captain back to the ship. In the taxi the Captain said, "Your sister and her friend showed great sporting camaraderie. Is the result ever the other way round?"

John said, "Oh yes, in bad weather or on a hillier course Titty tends to win."

The Captain said, "Well, now I can boast I've met the famous Titty Walker."

When John looked puzzled he said, "Your sister has a reputation as a translator. And also as a forthright, no nonsense person. Like you, John, she has clearly had to learn to stand on her own two feet." 

Meanwhile Nancy had a wonderful evening and saw Titty and Robert together for the first time. She envied her friend her tall, stern boyfriend whose face lit up when he smiled. He, she decided, was ideal for Titty, though she doubted if many girls could deal with him as Titty did. Though just how she did it was a mystery. She remembered what Peggy had once said, it never did to underestimate a Swallow. 

Maria's parents Mr and Mrs Robson seemed used to entertaining a crowd of Maria's friends, and provided a large but simple meal. It seemed they were vegetarians but Nancy hardly noticed. Ralph, of course, had been many times before. Titty was well known by repute and Robert, they had clearly heard much of. Nancy and Pete were the newcomers, but the conversation was busy and cheerful. Their son was tall and a little taciturn, very quiet with sad eyes, and had very little to say. There was a younger son who was equally quiet. The most animated Nancy saw the elder was when the subject of compasses for walking and sailing came up. He had asked lots of questions. Nancy gathered both he and his father were engineers of some kind. Maria was already a school teacher and obviously head over heels in love with the largely silent Ralph. She had a sister who was in her last year at school, who joined in whatever conversation was going on quite readily and whose distinguishing feature was a mass of blond hair. Nancy never found out what Ralph did, and she wondered what he and Titty found to talk about when they climbed together. 

When they came away Pete seemed very happy. Nancy asked him, "Why are you so pleased with yourself?" 

He said, "Why shouldn't I be? I've had watched some excellent cross country running, I've met up with John again, I've met Robert and had a super meal in good company."

Nancy was not satisfied, "Anything more?"

He grinned and said, "I think I might have gained us another customer."

Nancy said, "You've what?"

He explained, "Mr Robson is a director of a small engineering company, and they've been looking for some way of getting what they make about the country quickly and safely. The railways have lost them a couple of parcels recently, and with them some business."

Nancy looked at him and said, "Do you ever miss an opportunity?"

Pete turned serious for a minute and said, "Yes, all too often. Seriously, Nancy, we have to make use of every possible chance to rebuild the business. Especially since Mark has become less interested. Sometimes I wonder what's got into him."

The remark was an eye opener to Nancy, who had thought that Mark was just off with her. Now it seemed he was less friendly with Pete as well. She recalled what Georgy had said about Mark not being well.

Not long after the Newcsatle race there was an incident when Mark flew in and made a hash of his landing, almost crashing the plane and certainly unnerving his customer. It was lunchtime and Nancy was having her lunch outside the shed. Mark came over to her and blamed her for diverting his attention at a critical moment by getting up. Nancy had had to go and answer the phone, and felt that Mark should have professional enough to avoid the distraction But Mark told Nancy that he'd see Pete about her. He stormed off, flew out without filling up, and had had to put down part way through his next flight. Whether he did complain to Pete she never did know, but the matter was never mentioned again.

Four of them, Nancy, Rosemary, Anne and Phillipa went to London together, and Rosemary's husband came too. He was a quiet man who worked in the Swan Hunter shipyards as a draughtsman, and he knew more than it was healthy to know about armaments, but he had never sought nor done anything to attract the limelight and seemed quite happy to play second fiddle to Rosemary. They stayed Monday to Friday, went to four shows, and spent time wandering round the sights and museums. They went to the National Gallery and discovered that Rosemary's husband knew quite a lot about art and made it interesting. On the train home Nancy decided she had enjoyed herself more than she had her last visit, and realised there was much more to see in London than clubs and bars. She determined she would go again. Nor did she feel ill as she had done the last time. 

The other thing looming on the horizon for Nancy was Peggy's wedding. It would take place early in November. Commander Walker had agreed to give her away; their mother had said she wanted nothing to do with it. She added that Rodney was quite unsuitable, though since she had never even met him that was hardly fair. The Walkers would all be there except for John, who was away in the China Seas again. Nancy still felt a little shy of Rodney's parents, especially since Bernard was still in jail. Albeit that this had had virtually nothing to do with Nancy, she still felt some responsibility for the fact that he had careered off the rails. Nancy was conscious that so far as Bernard was concerned, she had got away with the relationship scot-free. Had she found herself pregnant after that wild night with him things would have been more difficult for her. The full extent of that night was the one thing she had kept to herself. 

Since both Rodney and Peggy had now lived in Kendal for some years that was where the wedding took place, and responsibility for the arrangements fell to Peggy, with Rodney in support. But it would be a relatively modest affair and there had been some concern about the cost. Then Mr Lisle had suggested that the trustees would be happy to make a substantial contribution, particularly as one of their investments had yielded an unexpected profit.


	22. Lucerne Again

Titty returned to Shotley with a few clothes and a lot of work. The early part of the new term would be busy. Mr Roberts still had not returned to lecturing and was not now likely to start again until October. In the meantimee, Titty fulfilled many of his duties, while he had undertaken a series of projects. This was the term when she would discover whether her lecturing and tutoring would produce good examination results. She had few illusions that if they were poor. it would cast a shadow over her future career. She had redoubled her efforts to prepare for both the lectures and the tutorials. Then there was her essay on English literature, to which she needed to add polish and additional illustration.

For once she had nothing more to translate for the Admiralty. Mr Dow had been as good as his word, and the work Titty received from him was manageable, bearing in mind she was still working through the massive document he had given her. Translation for the publisher was relatively relaxing compared with the other work. And so, after Easter she hoped to go to Scotland, with a night's stopover with Roz and then five days backpacking among the hills around Crianlarich. This was an experiment to see how she got on. If it was successful, then Robert had suggested they back-packed in the wild wilderness of the north west coast. Titty knew he was eager to take her there. It had been an area where he had found solace after the break up of his marriage, and to which he had often returned alone and with friends. She and Robert had grown very close, and corresponded at least twice a week during the Lent term. But for a range of reasons neither of them had any spare time for visits. She had been surprised. His outward appearance gave no hint of the uncertainties, doubts and sensitivity that his letters revealed. Had she known it, he had found she had similar insecurities. She had covered these by shyness and intellectual drive, and a fierce compulsive desire never, ever, to do anything that was second best.

So at home in Shotley she worked away at Roger's desk for hours. Breaks were spent training with the marines, translating for the Base Commander, and the occasional sail with her mother. The advantage with the translation work done for the Commander was that it ended when she walked away, there was no work left over to take up time. But she knew she had learned to master the work she had and no longer worked into the small hours, but usually when she came to breakfast at about eight she had already put in two or sometimes three hours solid work. While she knew her mother knew the hours she worked, she would have been surprised how many people on the base knew she worked from early to late. Roger's desk stood in the window, she drew the curtains when she sat there, and naval personnel would pass by and see the light on and shadow of her bent head. Nonetheless she was probably fitter and stronger than she had ever been. 

She had even undertaken a few long walks carrying the weight that Robert had told her she would need to carry, so went north with a good deal of confidence. All the same, when the first day and the morning of the second were characterised by cold driving rain and a few snowflakes, she wondered if she could cope. Arriving at a spot for the night to erect the tent in rain and snow and then having to cook demanded all the resilience she possessed, and without Robert's experience she knew she would have given up. Climbing mountains with a fifty pound pack was demanding. Then late on the second day ascending Ben More the rain had begun to ease, and by the time they reached the summit a watery sun was breaking through the cloud cover. The effect was magical and by two in the afternoon the rain had given way to sunshine and blue sky. They stood in total silence and gazed as the great panorama emerged from the cloud and it seemed the near ground was sparkling with diamonds, as the sun caught the snow. It transformed the scene and silence was magical. 

Titty and Robert joined hands. She looked up at him and smiled, and his heart lurched. 

They turned and climbed on upwards to the summit. The sun strengthened and they slowly dried out, and that evening were able to have their meal outside the tent, bathed in the glory of the late evening sun which turned the snow to a pink glow. It had needed all Titty's camping experience to cope with that first day and a half of miserable weather. The next three days were wonderful and though Titty knew roughly where they were most of the time, but she had left most of the navigation to Robert. She became increasingly aware just how tough and experienced he was. That feeling of being safe with him extended to being with him in Scotland. Nobody seemed, as far as she knew, to question their integrity, when they were away sleeping together in the same tent, alone together. 

When they returned for the last night to stay with Roz, she noted with delight that her protégée looked well, happy and very fit. David's comment had been, "As I suspected, young Titty's a tough little body. If she can survive what Robert has just put her through, she'll survive anything. She really is the ideal partner for Robert." 

Roz would have been the last person to argue with that statement.

Titty took the train south back to Shotley, and walked quietly home. The sentries stopped her, asking how she had got on in Scotland. She was able to tell them she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. They had given her a few tips before she left in the arts of survival in tough conditions. 

There was another day to have a run with her friends the marines, and a last few hours sat at her desk preparing for the summer term. Then, back in Cambridge. There were just a very few short weeks to coach her students for their exams, and she was determined they should be prepared as well as she could possibly make them. The students were given the run around, and woe betide any who arrived ill prepared, particularly if Titty felt they had it in them to do better. As one young man mourned to a friend, "I didn't prepare as I should have done, and did I get in the neck! I cannot imagine how she does it. I got a tongue lashing like no other; I'll never go to her again ill prepared. If I don't do well it won't be her fault. When she had finished with me I knew exactly what I should have written and what arguments I should have used." 

His friend commiserated, "Well, you at least you knew what was going to happen, you can hardly grumble when it did."

The student said, "I know, I know. She is so pretty with that hair and lovely legs, you forget what a tigress she is."

His friend said, "Smitten?"

"Why not, but it's very definitely don't touch."

Nancy came one afternoon, briefly, and the following weekend Peggy and Rodney visited. Titty took them on a tour of the colleges and for a row on the Cam. Peggy had asked her if she thought Commander Walker would give her away at the wedding. Titty had said she was sure he would, and that he frequently asked after her and Nancy. She warned Peggy that her father's responsibilities gave him little spare time, and she thought Peggy would have to fit in with him, so the sooner she asked him the better. She warned, "I think it might be November before he can spare the time." 

Titty took them down the Cam. She rowed, and it was evident to both Peggy and Rodney that she loved rowing and handled the boat with some skill, just like her mother. They had a picnic assembled by Titty and wondered how she managed it. She told them about her days with Robert in the Highlands, how grim it was when it rained, and how beautiful when the sun came out. They asked her where she and Robert had been and it was evident it had been quite a trek. Titty told them it was an experiment to see if they could walk in the north west coastal area north of the Great Glen. Rodney asked about the challenges of walking in Scotland, and Titty told them rather dryly that it was a lot harder than walking in England and Wales and then, with a grin, that a Scottish mile is longer than an English one. 

Peggy asked Titty again about what she thought about Germany. Titty had very little to say, except what had been written in newspapers. But Rodney asked, "Do you think things are as bad as the some of the newspapers are reporting?"

Titty looked at him for a long minute and said sadly, "No, worse," and then softly, "Much worse. And we are not ready for what's coming."

They had been taken to her study by a porter, and it was Rodney who noticed he had been careful to check that Titty was happy about them being there. When the porter left she thanked him and smiled, and he had smiled back. By the way he treated her, it was obvious he felt she needed to be looked after. Rodney commented wryly, "Given the things Titty gets up to, I wonder why they are so careful about people who visit her." 

Peggy had no answer and asked, "I wonder what Titty does know?" They knew no answer to that.

Robert came for a couple of days while the exams were on. There few students on the Cam, and they rowed down to the mooring place and had a long talk about what the future might bring. Robert told Titty how he now expected to join the navy as a medical officer when the war began. They discussed when the war might come, and agreed the likelihood was that it would start sometime in the next twelve months. Robert grew angry about what he saw as the muddled headed obduracy of the politician's acceptance of Hitler. "Don't they know? Don't they understand what's happening in Germany? We're giving all them all the time in the world to prepare for war. The Germans are good at conducting war, they are thorough and ruthless. They'll annihilate us with their well organised and disciplined soldiery, and then we'll become stools of the Nazi machine. They are, at least at present, very well equipped in every area whether at sea, on land or in the air. At the start of the war they'll be a match for us, if not too much."

Titty said, "They have to cross the channel. The sea and the air will be the battleground. John says that where a plane can reach, all shipping is vulnerable to air attack, and the navy have no real means of combating attacks by submarine or from the air. But submarines are vulnerable to air attack because in attack position they can be seen from the air."

"Is that what is being said?" asked Robert.

Titty said gloomily, "Yes, but the politicians are anxious to preserve the economy and banks don't want war, it will ruin the ruin their business. There are those who would be very ready to come to an accommodation with Hitler."

Robert complained, "If they don't change soon we won't have an economy we shall just be servants of the German state, and slaves to their will." 

War was a casting a shadow over their lives, and would do so for years.

The exams loomed over everything else around the college, and Titty found students came to her for last minute advice or clarification for one point or another. Then they would reappear either ebullient or in despair. Men tended to shrink within themselves, while the young woman, sometimes older than Titty herself, would come and sit by her desk in tears and have to be put together again in preparation for the next exam. But she had no clue as to how badly or how well she had prepared her students for those exams. One lad meeting her in the High Street had said, "At least you made us work. I've never worked so hard in my life. I am now glad you bullied us. But there were times when I hated you." Yet as he towered over her, he had smiled. He was with a friend and for once Titty turned and watched him walk away and could tell they were talking about her. 

In fact his friend said, "You didn't really mean you hated her."

"Oh yes I did. You've no idea just how demanding she is. Don't be fooled because she is pretty, she is as tough as they come. But I've never prepared better for exams, and not to do well will be to have been to let her down. The other thing is that she has worked as hard herself. She must have done to do what she has."

It would have cheered Titty to hear that, as the best indicator of how well her students might do in the exams. As it was, she hadn't a clue.

Nancy came for the weekend. She knew nothing of the pressures that Titty was feeling, but she enjoyed taking Nancy round the colleges again, and spent time thinking about what she might say that would interest her. Titty made no mention of the police enquiries, and it seemed to her that Nancy was making a successful effort to put her career reverses behind her. She was heartened by the fact that Nancy had repaired the breach with Peggy, and from what she heard she thought that Bernard had been a bad influence. She really enjoyed taking Nancy down the Cam, and after the long row they had a picnic. Titty wondered how well she would have fared had she had to endure the kind of trauma Nancy had, even if it was her own fault. Nancy had not had the luck to have parents like hers. Nancy hadn't a mother to whom she could pour out her troubles and insecurities. The best Nancy had seemed to have had been Pete, and with the best will in the world he could hardly be expected to be the same support. As for Nancy's sexual adventures, Titty understood far better than she would have done once the sexual urge that had driven Nancy ino Mr Hindleys's arms.

The Captain of Cambridge Harriers asked if Titty would run for them in a three mile club competition. Then Robert had rung up and said he would be coming to Cambridge that weekend, and she was sorry she had agreed to run, but Robert told her he'd like to see her compete and would not be free until late Saturday afternoon anyway. So he arrived at the track straight from the hospital, just in time to see the start. 

It was the first proper race Titty had had run since the beginning of the cross country season. There were sixteen women lined up at the start, and quickly four of them including Titty broke away and established a lead. One woman strove to remain in the lead, trying again and again to get away, but at the half way mark she dropped back. Titty only knew the others by repute and she followed them round. Just before the end of the eighth lap she tried the old ploy of running up beside the leaders, and to her surprise they didn't respond. She had a moment of hesitation, and then she ran hard. By the end of the ninth lap she had established a twenty yard lead. She glanced behind, and the group didn't seem to be chasing her down. She felt good, so she speeded up and the gap got bigger. Each time she passed the small stand she got a cheer, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Robert. She was on her own, and chased down to the finish to fall into Robert's arms at the line, oblivious of everyone else. He laid her gently on the grass, gasping and heaving, and she was still there when most of the field finished. 

When she got up, Robert had to help her to the changing rooms, where she was helped by Liz and another woman from Cambridge Harriers. She was as bashful as she had been for many years when she went up to collect her medal. In the team competition Cambridge Harriers came second, the best result they had for some years. 

Robert took her back to college and they went back to Titty's study where she collapsed into one of the easy chairs, while Robert busied himself getting her a coffee and biscuits. They left early for dinner at the same little restaurant she had taken Nancy. 

Robert asked, "Are you always like this after a race?"

"No," Titty told him, "I don't know what came over me. I don't even usually win on the track. Once I'd established a lead I don't know why I raced on so hard, it wasn't necessary."

Robert shook his head and said, "What am I going to do with you?"

She looked at him and said softly, "Look after me."

His answer was, "It seems I need to."

They agreed that if she was alright in the morning they would go for a walk over Wicken Fen. Robert took Titty back to college early, and left her to sleep her exhaustion off. 

In the morning Titty was back to normal, and they had a grand walk wishing they had brought the binoculars because of the bird life. The talk was mainly about their coming holiday in Scotland. Robert had roped in two friends of his and with Titty, Ralph and Maria there were six of them to share the loads. Robert and Titty made lists of what was absolutely essential in order to reduce the weight they carried, though even so their packs were going to be very much heavier than comfortable. 

On Monday they were both back at work. Titty had the first of a stream of envelopes from Mr Dow, so things were back to normal whether she liked or not. 

A colleague of Robert's remarked when they took a break, "I didn't realise you were courting Titty Walker. Is she alright?"

Robert told him, "Yes."

The colleague said, "Young Titty does not know what half measures are. I gather it is the same in college, my wife knows of her, and she is my son's tutor. He has never been worked so hard. I gather he gets a tongue lashing if he doesn't."

Robert had grinned. 

Titty's students gained better results than she had expected, and she had pleased Mrs Prentice who gave her a few clues as to what would be expected next academic year, when Mr Roberts would be back. Robert couldn't come to the year end dance. Titty enjoyed herself, but it wasn't the same without Robert there, and she came away quite early. When term ended she decided after all not to stay on, but went home to Shotley. There, she turned down a request to race again, but ran in a minor local race coming in a tired third, unable to replicate her earlier success. Just before she went home she heard her essay about English literature won third prize, which was as good as was reasonable, but it disappointed her. 

Then it was time to go to Scotland, and Titty took the train overnight to the Kyle of Lochalsh where she met up with the others, Robert arriving with his friends and most of the kit. They spent a night at a hotel and then set out on a murky drizzly morning. The rain soon developed into a heavy downpour, they had a job to complete the first day's walk, and they were wet and a bit grumpy at the end of the first day. The second was no better and their spirits fell.The meal was better that night, but they were already behind schedule. 

When they woke on the third day to rain drumming on the taut, stretched canvas they wondered what they had let themselves in for. They squelched doggedly, along hardly able to see much more than a few yards ahead of them, the scenery was shrouded in cloud. The sea could be heard but barely seen. They found an old partially roofed barn in which to have lunch. It smelt, but it was dry. When they emerged it had stopped raining. During the afternoon the weather improved, and by four o'clock a weak sun was peeping through the occasional break in the cloud. They camped on a flat patch of land beside a stream which, after the rain, gurgled and splashed its way down the hillside. They were half a day's walk behind their planned stopping point, but for the first time they were able to cook outside in the dry. Robert said he thought if they were lucky it might not rain the next day. But in a perverse way they had enjoyed those first two and a half days. They had certainly got to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. 

To her surprise it became evident that Titty was the best cook, her long experience of coping with a single gas ring and the Goblin's temperamental primus proved invaluable, and cooking over a wood fire on Wild Cat Island paid dividends. They would have been in trouble had not Robert and his friends kept the matches in a little tin. But they had all messed in and helped each other. 

The morning of the fourth day dawned warm and sunny, but they got away a little late after having left the tents as long as they could to give them a chance to dry out. Robert knew the route having been that way before. Perhaps because of those first miserable days, or maybe because the scenery was spectacular, they were buoyed up as they made up the shortfall in mileage of the previous days. Two days later the rain returned heavy and cold off the Atlantic, continuing through the afternoon, and they camped behind a wall for shelter. It was still raining in the morning, but the clouds soon gave way to weak sunshine during the morning, and the rain didn't trouble them again. 

Those fine warm days and spectacular scenery did Titty the world of good. There were great stretches of white sand, and rough little paths that led over the high cliffs with spectacular rock formations. Some days they turned inland to walk into the high mountains. Maria knew the birds, except for the birds of prey where Robert's friends were the experts. Several times they saw a golden eagle, which were but one of many highlights of a memorable holiday. When it came to wild flowers Robert was king, he seemed to know them all. Around a glowing fire they talked about every subject under the sun, from war to compassion and complexities of religion. They had all grown brown from the sun and wind, and when at last it was time to make for home Titty was sad the trip had come to an end. 

Robert and Titty had just one more evening together, when they stopped off at Pitlochry to be collected by Roz who took them to reclaim Robert's car from the yard. Roz saw Titty looking fitter and more relaxed than ever before, and she fully approved. Once they had had a bath to soak off the grime and changed into clean clothes Titty looked, Roz thought, younger than ever. She thought there was nothing like fresh air and exercise to bring the girl to full bloom. There was of course always the hair bleached by the sun and the sea, and now washed and brushed by Mary. Roz fully approved of the growing friendship between Mary and Titty. 

For Titty up here, miles from any industrial town, the war seemed impossibly far away. The only sign of its coming was increased activity in the wood yard. But the growing certainty that war was pending could not be avoided and it cast a shadow over all their future.

If Robert was lucky he would arrive in Lucerne on the last full Friday of the course, and then once again on Saturday they could ramble through the meadows as they had done in previous years. Titty had five weeks and a bit more until she travelled to Switzerland, and spent the time helping her mother and preparing for Lucerne and beyond. Some of her lectures could be used both at Lucerne and at college, although there had to be minor alterations. Once again she quickly found she needed all the time she had to meet the standards she had set herself. Particularly for the lectures she delivered at Lucerne, where she tried to memorise large portions of what she wished to say without reference, so that she could speak without her notes. Tutorials were much more driven by student participation, but there were still notes to be made about items that she felt were better said and discussed in small groups or one to one. 

Again the Admiralty were anxious she shouldn't travel alone. But on this occasion she was to be accompanied on the outward journey by a woman diplomat who was travelling with a junior minister. Titty had met her briefly, and was grimly aware that she was unlikely to enjoy the trip as much as had the journey with Mr Bonner. In fact both hardly spoke to Titty and were haughty with her. They made it obvious they resented her presence and Titty got the impression they were embarking upon an affair. Unlike Mr Bonner, they did not leave the train and take a taxi with her from the station to the college. It was an unpleasant experience.

But on reaching the college she was welcomed as an old friend and colleague, Her schedule was more demanding this year, but in fact they had made the last week the easiest and she had no duties at all on the Wednesday. She got the impression she was being indulged. Some of her colleagues seemed especially solicitous; there was always someone who was around to ensure she was alright, even if it was only to offer her a plate of the biscuits she loved so much. Titty decided it was only sensible to forget all about wishing that Robert was there, and immerse herself in the happy atmosphere and demanding intellectual thrust of the college. There were even two lecturers who took her walking on the Saturday. She was seldom alone. There always seemed to be someone with her even at mealtimes, and if she spent time in the garden where she would take her books to work in the early autumn sunshine. They might be there when she arrived or would appear shortly afterwards. One afternoon, she was there after she had given two lectures and held a demanding tutorial, it was the Principal who was sitting under a tree. After a while he came over to her and they started to talk. Titty asked him, "Am I being watched?" 

He had looked at her and raised an amused eyebrow, asking, "Now what makes you think that?" 

They had always liked each other and they knew it. For his part he was susceptible to any pretty woman, he was entranced by her clear skin and near perfect oval face with its arched eyebrows and big brown eyes and mass of hair. For her part she knew him and envied his vast intelligence and apparently infinite capacity to manage the complexities of running an internationally renowned college. He provided intellectual leadership second to none. 

Now, Titty recounted several incidents, including the fact that she seemed never to be alone except in her own room. He turned to her and said, "I cannot forget the Hans incident. That could so easily turned out far more serious than it did. There was a plan that he should capture you, deliver you to accomplices, and be spirited into Germany. We learned all that from papers he carelessly left in his room."

Titty was startled, and asked, "Are you sure?"

The principal smiled and said, "Yes, I am quite sure. To Hans' fury he was not allowed to return to his room, and the police merely collected his personal belongings. If you don't believe me I could show you the evidence."

"But why am I so important to them?" Titty asked. 

He said, "You know all manner of information that they would like to know, particularly what your government knows about their plans. You are known to have an exceptionally retentive memory. It was evident they have a dossier on you. When you are here you are vulnerable in a way you are not when you are in England."

She said, "I had no idea I was so important to them, or they knew so much about me."

He said, "Have they never told you these things at home in England? The Germans have informers everywhere these days, including here, despite my best efforts to prevent it."

"I had no idea," Titty said, and asked, "Am I watched when I'm in England?"

"Far more than you have any idea, I suspect. You are allowed here because I have to promise to care for you. You are very valuable to us, and there are students who come here because they want to hear what you have to say. So there, Miss Innocent, now you know. Don't change what you do because of this conversation, leave all that to us. Nonetheless, I shall be relieved when Robert is here to care for you." 

Had he known it he had put a song in Titty's heart. Robert was to be there to look after her and protect her. She couldn't think of anyone better, but oh, how she loved him to be close to her.

At last Friday came and Titty met Robert when he got out of the taxi. As soon as he had paid the driver she flung her arms around him and he kissed her hard, in front of onlookers. When they entered the hall the Principal had been there and smiled at her and said, "Now you are happier. Not that you're ever anything else, so far as you let us know."

At least, she thought when Robert had disappeared to wash, change and put away his stuff, he hasn't arrived here looking like a prize fighter. He had been to Germany once since last year, but purely as a doctor. Titty's heart lurched at the thought of the coming war, of how it was bound to disrupt their lives for its duration. The men of her life would all be at sea and vulnerable. Why, oh why did there have to be war? 

A lecturer came over to her while she was waiting in the dining room to discuss some small changes to the programme. She had been one of those whom Titty suspected had been detailed to watch over her. She had stood up to leave and looked down at Titty and said, smiling, "Titty Walker, you look disgustingly pleased with yourself."

Titty looked up and said, "I am." 

Robert had just come into the dining room. The lecturer caught sight of him and said, "Now, none of the rest of us matter one iota."

Titty said, "That's not true."

The reply was, "Well, not much anyway." 

But Titty was already out of earshot. "Tomorrow," Titty thought, "I shall have him to myself."

Once again on Saturday Titty waited on the terrace for Robert to come through the doors to her, putting on his rucksack and still pushing the flask into the pocket. And again he thought how small and apparently frail she looked in her old shorts and school girl's blouse, now tight across her shoulders. Yesterday, Robert had come straight from the operating theatre. The train journey had been difficult, and he was tired. Uncharacteristically at lunch he fell asleep, and Titty watched over him. A man had passed down the track, but they had been above it on some rocks and she thought he hadn't seen them. After a while he returned, but Titty was convinced he still hadn't seen them as he was searching the ground below them with a pair of binoculars. She woke Robert and told him, and they had returned to the college early. 

Suddenly, even with Robert there, the world was a less friendly place. But on the Wednesday they had a longer walk, after someone had assured Robert the watchers had departed looking for other quarry. They had arrived at the same rocks, where there was a grassy hollow. After lunch Robert had lain looking up into the sky talking of the walk in the West Highlands. Titty had stopped his mouth with a fierce kiss and he had felt her breast harden against him and again been caught by surprise. Where had she learnt to be as fiercely passionate as that, it was almost indecent? But Robert kissed her back. 

This time they could both go to the Friday night dance. They danced into the early hours, and woke after a few hours sleep to be ready for the taxi that would take them first leg of their journey home. The Principal had been in the hall when they left, and had told them sadly that he thought it unlikely there would be a school next autumn. It was sobering to think that there were a growing number of people who expected that Europe would soon be at war. 

Robert stayed over a couple of nights in Shotley, and it was only two days later that Titty returned to Cambridge to begin her term. When she joined the decoding class Ralph was not there, and when she made enquiries she could find out nothing. Finally she rang Maria, who would not tell Titty anything. But when Titty asked if everything was alright between them Maria assured her it was. This term Titty was much more confident that she would deliver what was needed, and required no assurance that she was. Early in the term there was a climbing club meet to which Mr Roberts came, but exercise was a mistake and it was obvious that he wasn't over his illness.

A week later Titty ran for the Cambridge Harriers on a hilly course near Bedford, and won easily. Then a fortnight later she went to Newcastle again, and on a different and very hilly course she eclipsed all the opposition. She finished way ahead of Maria, who had to be content with second place. She was on a roll. The victory didn't harm her friendship with Maria at all, and at the race she told Titty how much she and Ralph had enjoyed their walk in Scotland and how they hoped to go back. Maria also told Titty that Ralph had been seconded to some government department with offices somewhere in the south midlands. Even Maria was not allowed to know exactly where it was. 

There was a new sense of urgency around the college and it seemed to affect everyone. Titty quickly found herself not only with the students that she had originally been allocated, but some of Mr Robert's students as well. He still wasn't very well, and concern was being shown about his long term health. 

There was a second climbing weekend in the Langdale Valley when Titty climbed with a young and very able woman student called Susanna. She was far more confident than Titty had been at a similar stage, but she had never been shown how to use slings in the way that Titty had. She learned quickly, and Titty enjoyed climbing with her. She was reading mathematics.

Then there was a cross country race in North London over a course around Parliamentary Hill Fields. It was billed as a chance for athletes, men and women, to be chosen for the national side. The women's race was over four and half miles, and there were two rather savagely hilly laps. At the start of the race several girls went off very fast, bent on achieving a place in the national team. But they were caught by a group of three, of whom Titty was one. On the first hill there was a battle royal to be first over the top, and almost immediately three of them, including Titty and Maria, broke away. They opened up a gap, and that was the running order when they passed the spectators at the end of the first lap. Then Titty decided to see if she could break the other two and went away on a long slope. The others followed her for the first twenty or thirty yards and then fell away, and she again won easily with Maria third. 

Just after the medal giving ceremony the officials issued a list of those who would represent their country, and it did not include Titty, not that she cared. She had in fact already left for Cambridge. Sunday's papers complained that the team selection should have included Titty, but an athletics official was reported as issuing a statement that, 'Someone who put her career before the national interest was not worthy of inclusion.' 

A couple of journalists managed to get in touch with Titty, rather obviously trying to get her to protest and complain of her treatment, but she showed no interest whatever. A third made a very determined effort to raise a scandal, but failed. Titty was quoted as saying, "The selectors have told me before I had to choose between the national team and my academic work, so I knew I would not be chosen. I consider that fair." 

The weekend of the international event Titty went to Scotland and climbed in Arrocher with Robert. The British team was fourth, and the press traced Titty to Scotland, but she showed no interest in giving them a quote and they gave up. Her disinterest was so obviously genuine there was no further effort to implicate her in controversy, except by one newspaper who claimed to have heard her say the selectors were mad. Titty's family and friends took no notice of the article since it was so out of character.

She and Robert stayed over till Monday and did a walk up the Cobbler, and before returning went to dinner with the couple who had hosted Titty's first big formal dinner in Scotland. In spite of the grandeur of the house, and the presence of an old retainer who served dinner with elaborate courtesy, the meal was casually friendly. Titty enjoyed herself. They went back to Roz and Davie's, and were away very early as Titty was due to give a talk in the evening. Robert was to go back for a busy four days at the hospital, and was then to drive south to Cambridge for the weekend.

Robert was again consulting at Addenbrooks. He collected Titty from college and went to the hospital in order to see a patient on whom he was to operate on Monday morning. It all took rather longer than had been planned. When the consultation was over, they went back to Titty's study. Neither of them was very hungry so Titty raided her meagre supplies and concocted a cheese salad before Robert returned to the hospital where he was staying. The next day dawned drear, and soon turned to rain. They gave up the idea of going for a walk and stayed in Cambridge, going to lunch early and back to Titty's study where they made plans for Christmas and New Year. Then they just talked together. There was a fire in the grate, and soon they would have to part and would not see each other until Christmas. At that moment it seemed to Titty an awfully long time until Christmas, and Robert would not arrive until late Christmas Eve, in six weeks time. Finally they hugged, kissed and parted. 

The first of two of Robert's operations would begin early tomorrow, and with the second following he would then have to begin the long drive north. When he had gone Titty settled to two hours of translation, for the navy was again sending envelopes to her even if they came from Mr Dow. The tone of these messages was changing, and it was increasingly evident that the country would soon be at war. Titty drove herself over the next few weeks to keep abreast of the work. She made two visits to London and went to the publishers, taking with her the last translation that was now finalised. She told them she would not be able to take on another translation for the foreseeable future, and her contact had nodded sadly, commenting, "I suppose the Admiralty are becoming demanding." 

Titty merely said, "Yes."

Her publisher said, "By this time next year we'll be at war or occupied."

The 'or occupied' had shocked Titty, for she knew that the old gentleman had contacts with the highest echelons of government, and the remark showed what some people in government were thinking. She was saddened, suddenly she knew that war was inevitable and those who believed it could be averted were living in a fool's paradise. She had a letter from Peggy just a week before her wedding to say that she and Rodney had come to an understanding that when war came Rodney would volunteer. Peggy said in the letter that Nancy's ex-boyfriend Bernard had been released on parole, stolen a car which he had crashed, and was now back in jail.

But Peggy's wedding was a happy highlight. Titty and Nancy acted as bridesmaids, and Titty's father gave Peggy away. Titty had not realised, but her father had met Peggy and Rodney several times, and Nancy too. He looked, Titty thought, splendid in full uniform. for he was now a Vice Admiral. She wondered whether any occasion was too much for her father. Nancy showed her up, she thought, because she was so smart, bold and confident; she seemed to have regained all her composure and flair. Such social occasions were still daunting to Titty, but she stayed overnight with her parents and Roger at a guest house in the town. Roger seemed to have grown taller than ever, and must be about the same height as Robert. He was now second engineer on a bigger ship. Then at the last minute, as they were manoeuvring Peggy's short train from the car, John arrived, a looking a little flustered. John would never achieve the cheerful insouciance of his younger brother. The contrast between Nancy, tall and bold, and Titty, small and shy, was very marked, but it was a happy occasion and nobody minded. And when Titty had a little weep her brothers hid from view. They stood beside her when they saw Peggy and Rodney drive away. Nancy told her enviously afterwards, "I wish I had two brothers like John and Roger to stand by me. You know you just have no idea how handsome you all look together." She didn't tell Titty she had just heard Mr Richardson ask Mr Lisle who the other bridesmaid was? - The one who's the prettiest woman in the room. Apart from the bride!

Titty asked her, "How are things?" 

They were staying at different guest houses, but Nancy walked back with her. She said, "There are bound to be changes. When the war comes Pete and   
Mark will sign up as pilots, and I've no idea what will become of the business or me."

Titty asked, "I thought that you believed there wouldn't be a war?"

Nancy said, "I have changed my mind, you were right all along. Now I wish it would start. Do you still think it will last a long time?"

"John thinks at least five years. It seems an awful long time," Titty told Nancy.

Nancy said, "Pete thinks that too, he says he got from you."

"Me!" Titty exclaimed, "I must have said that to him years ago."

"You probably did. He thinks the world of you, its why when I was finally brought to my senses he pushed me into seeing you."

"I can't believe that. It must be rubbish, surely not?" Titty said.

"It's not rubbish," Nancy said, "All my life I'll remember you saying you didn't want to know how I had fallen apart, and how you asked what I was going to do next. Nobody else did that."

It was all news to Titty.

Back in Cambridge the Christmas dance was not the same without being able to dance with Robert. In a moment of weakness Titty told Mrs Pritchard she felt there was only half of her there. But Mrs Pritchard hadn't scoffed as she had expected her to do. 

Christmas came, and she was back at Shotley and had three days translating for French visitors. Once again she walked down to the offices and climbed the stair to the Base Commander's secretary's office, by now an old friend. She was, had Titty known it, an ardent fan and seldom missed reports of Titty's races. The secretary made very sure that as many people as possible knew the extent of those victories. This time the Frenchmen had brought with them the gift of a warm mountain jacket which they had specially altered to fit. The seamstress they had employed to do the job had refused to believe the measurements they had given her, and demanded Titty be photographed wearing it. They kept their promise, and she had to be photographed in it to her embarrassment. Fortunately the jacket fitted comfortably with space to stretch and climb. Titty was given it just as they were about to leave and she had no time to refuse. 

The Admiral had been there throughout the last day, and once again he watched Titty walk away. He turned to the Base Commander and said, "I still don't understand how she does it!" 

The Base Commander said, "What? Spend three solid days translating, or the last three month's string of victories?"

The Admiral said, "Both. And still remain unspoilt, she should be conceited as a peacock. She still blushes like a schoolgirl at all those Gallic compliments. But she is much smarter than she used to be."

The Base Commander said, "I don't think Molly Walker would allow any daughter of hers to get conceited. She has more trouble with Bridget that Titty in that department. As far as the clothes go, my secretary tells me she goes to a local dressmaker who makes what she thinks best. Titty, I gather, is hardly interested but the dressmaker loves to make her look her best."

"What's going to happen when we go to war?"

"My guess is they'll buckle down to it and get on with the job, the same as the rest of us." 

They grimaced at each other and the Admiral left.

At Christmas, among other things Robert bought Titty a really good fountain pen and pencil. She had never had such a pen, and as she quickly found it wrote beautifully, it seemed to give a whole new dimension to her secret. Only Robert knew that she was writing her first novel. But Titty only had one other of her favourite men that Christmas, Daddy, for John and Roger were at sea. Bridget was playing in Paris with the music school, in fact she was in such demand that her family seldom saw her. So celebrations were muted, and Titty really didn't care. She had Robert to herself and didn't have to share him with anyone else except her parents. It wouldn't be the same when she went north again for Hogmanay. 

Indeed it wasn't. There were three big social events this time two dances and a meal. Among Robert's close friends there was almost a competition to keep abreast of Miss Titty's cross country successes, and most of them vied to get hold of a photograph of her running or winning. Most knew that there had been three victories so far this season, and they still found it impossible to understand how the man who had married Fiona had met, wooed and won the English girl. She was practically a legend. 

At both dances Robert had to lend her out, though the only man Titty really loved to dance with apart from Robert was his brother Davie. Their friendship had begun when she had shown such interest in the Lodge, and they had consolidated it with each subsequent visit. Roz remained smitten and made no effort to hide her affection for her sister-in-law to be. She bemoaned the fact that they were still unmarried. "I want young Robert settled and the pair of them in bed together. I am willing to bet she'll drop all that shyness when she gets there." 

David had told her she was a hussy, but did not disagree. 

Titty had continued her dancing classes and danced better than she had the year before.She was no longer fazed by multiples of knives and forks, and there was no attempt to induce Robert's girl to drink the way some of them did. Among themselves they were amused at, as one of put it, "Her air of don't mess with me, I'm Titty Walker." 

But Robert was needed back at the hospital, and there was no chance to try out the jacket the Frenchmen had brought her. Still, almost as soon as term began, there was a meet of the climbing club at Coniston and Robert was able to come. They climbed on Saturday and Sunday in near ideal conditions, and the jacket, crampons and ice axe were all admired. When one of the climbers said he supposed Robert had bought them for her, there was an incautious moment as Robert told them they were gifts for translation work Titty had done. No one questioned him further. It had been leaked at some point that since her school days Titty had translated at Shotley for foreign visitors, and that she had charmed them. As someone said, "And why not?"

Meanwhile back in Cambridge, apart from her usual work schedule, Titty was training hard. Immediately after the race over Parliament Hill Titty had received an invitation to race on the Sheffield cross country course, in a field that would include two Americans and a number of Europeans. There too would be the cream of the British runners, some of whom really fancied their chances. The field included Maria. Titty had already decided this would be her last major race of the season. If Cambridge Harriers wanted her to run locally that might be another matter. She hoped to do well, not least because with luck both John and Robert would be there. She had decided to travel up Friday morning with three others so they could preview the course. Things were made easier since they were to be put up by an uncle of one of the men, another Charles. Titty had been impressed with the young man, who was a student of hers and worked hard. His aunt had made careful enquiries as to each one of them as to what kind of meal they would like, and they had agreed the simpler and lighter the better.

On the Thursday evening before they left Titty received a call from the Principal's secretary. She was to be prepared for an interview with the college Principal on Monday morning. What, she wondered, had she done now? She had never been formerly interviewed by the Principal.

Charles' uncle's house stood in its own grounds. It was evident they were very wealthy, but Charles' uncle and his wife did all that they could to make their visitors relaxed. They packed them off in plenty of time for the race, while they hoped to arrive later to watch. Each of the runners chose their own way to prepare. The weather forecast was dire: snow, rain and a cold wind. The men's race was away first, and when they had got away the officials lined up the women and got them away early because of the deteriorating conditions. There was a short lap of a mile and a half with two vicious little hills, before the runners crossed in front of the spectators, then a longer lap with more hills and a large exposed field. 

They had no sooner started than it began to snow. When they reached the hills the pace was very slow, and Titty took a chance and raced away up the first hill. No one had expected that, and she was away on her own much earlier she had expected. No one followed. By the time Titty crossed in front of the spectators, she had opened up a gap of forty yards. Robert and John were there to cheer her on, but Titty was oblivious. 

There was consternation among the officials, they knew at this pace if she were to keep it up she'd catch the last of the men on the run in to the finishing funnel. Three men were sent up the course with yards of tape. John said to Robert, "She's gone very early."

The man next to them said accented English, "Who is she? No one will catch her, she has the look. You know her?"

John said, "She's my sister, Titty Walker."

The man said, "Ha, the little translator. I wondered if it was her. You have a fine lady as a sister, monsieur."

John and Robert looked at each other. 

It only seemed a few minutes later that a journalist pounded up the hill with his camera in his hand. He shouted, "The 'Little Lass', here in two minutes going like a train!" 

The officials hurried to clear the last of the men to one side. Out on the course, Titty was charging along through the snow and mud and slush. Across the big cold field her feet seemed hardly seemed to touch the mud, up the first hill, then the second. Her pace hardly slackened at all. She was going faster than ever. Into the trees, and the officials herded the slower of the men to one side, leaving Titty a clear path through the mud. She hardly seemed to notice. Her mouth was set, and she knew that she was beginning to tire. She upped her stride rate again, would the trees never end. But at last she burst out of the wood and onto the last upward slope. 

"Quick," said Robert, "She's all in, she'll only just make it." He and John went to the end of the funnel as the official gazed in concern. Titty ran through and collapsed into Robert's arms sodden, filthy with mud and slush, and totally spent. He gathered her up, and it was John who passed her disc to the official and strode ahead of Robert. The crowd backed away as he carried her away from the finish. John heard an official say, "That's an impossible time in these conditions." 

Suddenly there were two St John's Ambulance ladies hurrying towards them with a stretcher. Robert said as he laid her on it, "I'm a doctor, put her down." Titty rolled over and was sick. She was gasping, and started to sit up. He pushed her gently down, supporting her back. "Lie still, darling." And she fainted. 

Journalists were running across, but John waved them away and they went. One who was hesitating was dragged away by colleagues. "That's no place for us, Roddy. Leave the poor girl alone."

Titty came round and was sick again. She opened her eyes and looked up at Robert, "Did I finish, Robbie?" 

"Yes, darling."

"I won?"

"Yes, darling. Now let these ladies take you to the changing rooms, and do as they say."

"Yes, Robbie. You'll be here when I come out?"

"I'll be here," he said..

The Ladies took her away to the changing room, where they cleared a space to lay Titty on a bench and used a bucket of hot water to wash off the mud. They dried her thoroughly and dressed her, by which time Titty felt better. They asked, "Who were the men?" 

"One is my fiancé, and the smaller one is my brother," Titty told them. 

The St John's Ambulance ladies helped Titty to the medal giving ceremony, and people made way for them in the crowded room. The men's medals and team prizes had already been presented. Then the women's. Third went to Maria, second to a Swedish girl. When Titty's name was announced there was a huge cheer, and she went up alone, the other girls standing on each side of her on the podium. She turned and held her medal up, very happy indeed. 

As soon as they were outside there was Charles. "My Uncle is here with the car. He suggests you all might like to come home for coffee. I'll come with you so you don't get lost." 

They followed the big Lagonda away, and were taken back. Charles' aunt was most concerned, but his uncle was quietly pleased, telling John, "We've never had a real champion in the house before." 

John and Robert had to leave then. Charles' aunt made careful enquiries of Robert as to Titty's condition. He had smiled, and told Titty she would be all right, but might be a bit wobbly in the morning. He was right,and Charles' aunt insisted Titty was wrapped in a rug for the journey home. In fact Titty went to sleep for most of the journey, although they stopped off at a small restaurant on the way home. There, the Sunday papers were on display, with various pictures of Titty on the front pages. They ordered a meal, when to Titty's horror she noticed two journalists at an adjacent table. They did not come over, but the waitress brought a piece of paper with the words, 'Well done' and their names on it. 

When they finally got home, Titty went to the dining room and had a very small salad. She went to her room still desperately tired, went to bed, and thought briefly before she went to sleep, 'What on earth does the Principal want me for?' 

It was her first thought on waking, but by now she was wondering what she had done wrong. She made herself a coffee and a piece of toast, even today she could face no more.

She reported to the Principal's secretary just before nine o'clock. Instead of showing her straight in the secretary sat her down. "Titty, you are going to be interviewed for a job, they won't tell you what job. There are a panel of five gentlemen, they want to ask you a few questions." Titty was taken down the corridor to a room where three tables had been arranged in a near half circle. The Principal sat at one end, and Mr Dow sat next to him, The Admiral sat at another, but in the centre were the other three gentlemen. Titty had never seen any of them. Two were in suits, and one in an Admiral's uniform. There was a single straight backed chair in the centre of the room. 

When she came in they stood up and said, "Good morning." 

She shook hands with each; Mr Dow was poker-faced, and only the Admiral smiled at Titty. She sat down on the chair.

The Principal said, "Titty, you are not to worry about today's duties, they have been covered by someone else." 

It was the first indication Titty had that this was going to take a long time. The man in the centre said, "Miss Walker, we wish to ask you a few questions, I shoould warn you this interview is for a post we cannot discuss with you until later." 

After an hour Titty had the fleeting thought that a few questions was a misnomer. Each interviewer had a pile of papers in front of them. They began by asking what she had done at school, and then went on to university. Most of the questions were asked by the chairman, although the man to his left, a Mr Cuthburtson, seemed irascible and hostile. Each time they began with, "Miss Walker what...?" Or "Miss Walker, why...?" 

It must have been after about an hour when the Admiral said irritably, "We've a lot more to ask, can't we dispense with this 'Miss Walker business? Charles and I have been calling Titty by her Christian name for years." 

The chairman raised an eyebrow and with a ghost of a smile asked Titty, "Miss Walker, will if it would be alright if we address you as Titty?"

Titty said, "Yes." 

After that, they called her Titty, except for Mr Cuthburtson who insisted on calling her Miss Walker. They got on to what she had done in her holidays. and then what she did in her spare time. Mr Cuthburtson raised endless and seemingly pointless questions about climbing, about which he seemed clueless. He even asked Titty about her friendship with Nancy. Then they got on to Lucerne, and what she had done there, and seemed to know something of Helga and Giselle and of course Hans. The Chairman had grinned and asked outright. "How did you manage to put him on the floor?" 

The Admiral broke in and said, "In this company, Titty, you may be quite open about what goes on at Shotley." 

So Titty told them how she had run with the marines and been taught unarmed combat. The chairman had openly laughed, and asked if it was true she often outran the men, and Titty had to admit it was. Mr Cuthburtson looked haughtily at her and asked, "Don't you think it is unsuitable for a young lady to learn such things?"

Titty said an abrupt, "No." 

Mr Dow grinned at her, andMr Cuthburtson said, "It sounds most unfortunate for Hans. I mean. It could have caused a diplomatic incident."

The Chairman said, "Well, it didn't. It was all dealt with most efficiently by the Swiss police. Hans' cover was broken, and he was hustled over the border within a couple of hours. No more was heard about it, and that was the end of that."

Things were getting just a little more relaxed. But the questioning went on remorselessly. What had Titty done, both as a student and then as lecturer at the Lucerne school? Then they went on to the translation work at Shotley, and they even knew about the gifts the Frenchmen had given her. Mr Cuthburtson asked, "Didn't you ever question whether it was suitable for you, as a young woman, to accept?" 

Titty was nonplussed for once. The chairman intervened, "I rule that question out of order. They knew Titty climbed regularly."

Mr Cuthburtson said huffily, "I don't understand what crampons are." 

There was a break, and Titty was allowed to go out and go to the loo. The secretary got her a cup of coffee.

While she was out of the room, Mr Cuthburtson asked, "I don't understand this unarmed combat business. Surely she did not do that with the marines?"

The Admiral said, "Oh yes, she did. And got a quite a reputation for it, too. As for the running with her, the Shotley lads are notorious for doing well in inter=base races. I don't see that it is relevant anyway."

A Mr Booth, who had hardly spoken, said quietly, "I think it is a good thing, apart from the Hans incident. I'm told by those who ought to know, the Germans held off because they knew she was hot to handle. Feisty little piece."

When Titty came back there were more detailed questions about the translation work she had done for the navy, and what she knew and what she didn't. They asked about the work she had done for the publishing house, and why she was not doing any at the moment. They knew an awful lot about her. By the time they finished, it was gone one in the afternoon. 

It was the largely silent Mr Booth who said, "Titty, may we congratulate you on Saturday's victory, and the time you achieved. We're glad to see you are up and about. Now, I expect you'd like some lunch."

It was Mr Dow who showed Titty to the door. He smiled at her and said, "You were brilliant."

As soon as she was gone, Mr Cuthburtson said, "What is all this about Saturday?"

Mr Booth said briskly, "Do you ever read anything about sport, Cuthburtson?"

He said, "Certainly not, I never turn to the back pages, that's trivia."

Mr Booth said, "You didn't need to look at the back page. Most of Sunday's papers had the picture of her on the front page. The photographer deserves a medal for it. Anyone with that expression of determination on her face gets my vote for what we have in mind. For sheer guts, you'll find her hard to beat." 

Mr Cuthburtson said, "Surely the publicity is most unfortunate."

Mr Dow said, "You can leave the publicity angle with me. But sadly, she'll have to forego her athletics career."

Mr Cuthburtson said, "Why is such a fuss being made of this? Surely it's irrelevant."

The Chairman said, "I don't think it is, given Miss Walker's undoubted natural aptitude to run at that level and hold down her academic career.,To work for us in the way she has shows she has the required application."

Mr Cuthburtson said, "But She was for ever returning work we sent her, until you intervened on her behalf, Dow." 

"You were sending her impossible amounts of work for someone who wasn't full time."

"It surely doesn't take long."

Mr Dow said, "How much have you done to know? You know French and German, but to my knowledge you've never attempted do your own translation?"

Mr Cuthburtson began, "Well may be," and went on, "I am still very uncertain whether a woman can really make a contribution. My feeling is this is a man's world and we shouldn't be asking women into it. I think we'll be making a vast mistake inviting this woman to work for us other than as a secretary or a clerk."

The Admiral burst out angrily, "This is ridiculous. A woman can have insights a man doesn't. I live in a man's world, I work with men all day, but I'd be a fool not to recognize the contribution women can and are making. In Titty we have one who has been making a contribution for years and we are turning her down. We must be mad. It shows appalling prejudice Geoffrey."

Mr Cuthburtson was about to reply, but the Chairman said, "Gentlemen, decision time is now. We agreed originally we would decide by majority vote. I know Geoffrey is against her, and Charles is for."

The Admiral said shortly, "For."

The Chairman said, "Dow?"

Mr Dow said, "You must realize I am prejudiced in her favour. I have known Titty Walker since she was a schoolgirl. She has in my view an intuitive understanding of naval strategy, probably as a result of her father's influence and the career choices made by her brothers. There is in my view also an advantage in employing someone who has an understanding of navigation. So my vote is for Titty."

The Chairman asked, "Mr Booth?"

Mr Booth said, "You must allow for the fact that I am the new boy. I read the dossier, and it seems to me academically she has a proven record. I understand she is engaged to Dr Robert McCulloch, who has worked for us and whom I vaguely know. I do not see that as a barrier, rather the reverse. I did not know she had navigation experience, and I agree with Mr Dow, it is an advantage. I have listened to her speak today and she showed admirable composure and objectivity about what she has done. Two things weigh with me which may sound facetious. One is the face on yesterday's, and today's newspapers. She has an expression of singular determination. Then the undisputable fact she is decorative. Gentlemen, it's going to a long war and a pretty face is going to be better than a sour one. I vote for her."

The Chairman said, "Thank you, Mr Booth. As for myself, I have never met Miss Walker before. I rather wish I had. As Booth said, her academic ability is all we could wish for. The dossier draws a picture of consistency, application and objectivity. In the interview this morning she has shown those qualities. Given that we know she gave her all and a bit more on Saturday, she could have been excused a much weaker performance this morning. I cast my vote in her favour, with one reservation. She'll have to give up her athletic career. Which means, gentlemen, we shall be taking her on if she agrees to join us. Now. I propose we have our lunch, and then leave Mr Booth and Mr Dow to sort out the details." 

Mr Cuthbertson said, "Supposing she refuses to join us?"

The Chairman looked at him and said very distinctly, "She won't. Sorry Principal Delaney, we need her."

The Principal said, "We will manage. You should be feeling sorry for the students, they will be the losers. Perhaps I should have told you before they know her as....the Tigress."

Mr Booth roared with laughter, joined by he others. 

Later Mr Dow said to Mr Booth, "I noticed that you did not admit to knowing our Miss Walker, but you half indicated you knew something of her."

Mr Booth said lightly, "There were the newspapers of course. But many years ago I was climbing on Dow Crag with a friend. There were two girls who obviously newish to climbing. One was tall and strong and reasonably good. The other was small and good and very careful and safe. The smaller one was Titty Walker, I knew her immediately she came into the room. It is the face, it's distinctive."

When they saw Titty after lunch she agreed to join them, just as the Chairman had said she would. It was left to them to work out the details together. Titty left Cambridge for ever on the Wednesday afternoon, and never went back as a lecturer. Her career as an athlete was over.


	23. Air Services are No More

Nancy went to Peggy's for Christmas. She had tried to persuade Peggy that she and Rodney should have their first Christmas on their own, but Peggy said she wanted Nancy with them. She drove over when they finished on Christmas Eve and left early on the day after Boxing Day. They eaten too much and drunk a little. Nancy gave them place mats and a vase, and had taken some care in buying both. They played card games and talked. Mainly indeed they talked about family and friends. 

Rodney needed to be cheered up: he and his parents were troubled by Bernard, who showed defiance and no sign of remorse. But his mother had always idolised her handsome elder son. Nancy found to her relief she could view Bernard's behaviour with no sense of guilt now he had shown so clearly he was bent on continuing a life of minor crime. Bernard now had a criminal record and Rodney pointed out that had all manner of implications regarding insurance and loans and the difficulties that were bound to follow in getting and holding down a job. Rodney also told them that Bernard had always been boastful and one for the girls. Bernard had a romantic notion of his own abilities that was not grounded in reality. 

Nancy was aware that was all very well, but she had fallen for Bernard in a big way, as she had for Mr Hindley. But that was rather different, for Mr Hindley was a practised conman and a clever one, nor had she ever idolised him in the way she had Bernard. The police had established Bernard had made five figure sums from his various enterprises and got away with tax evasion for years by paying so much, but by no means enough. Nancy knew much more now of course, but he and Carl had got clean away and the police had no idea where Bernard was or what he was doing .He had just melted away. Nancy had never told Peggy the full extent of her involvement with either man. 

Then Peggy had dug out the articles about Titty's string of victories and how she seemed to hate the publicity it brought her, even if she tolerated it outwardly. 

Nancy mused, "I wonder what will happen to Titty in the end."

Peggy said, "I know what I hope will happen."

Nancy asked "What? I cannot imagine?" 

Rodney said, "I think I know what you are going to say."

Peggy had grinned and said, "I hope she'll marry Robert and have kids and live in Edinburgh and entertain their friends and hopefully us and Maria and Ralph. I can imagine she will always be Titty, kind, thoughtful and clever, and the sort of person people go to see when they feel down. You told me she cheered you up."

Nancy said, "She did. And somehow, just by refusing to see the things I'd done as the real me. You know I cannot see Titty as Robert's wife, she seems so ethereal and dreamy, absorbed in her books and her studies."

Rodney said, "I don't see Titty that way from what I have seen of her. I can imagine away from everyone else she might be passionate. She certainly adores Robert. I cannot imagine she is a big softy though and she could be quite a challenge. I could see her being like her mother, able to do anything. When we met her that time in North Wales she could out walk most people and when a couple of the men started to mess about she was very sharp, so much so they didn't try it on anymore. There must be a very practical side to her."

Peggy said "People in Kendal know I know Titty. The rumour is there is to be a big race near Sheffield, an invitation event, and Titty was on the list of runners invited. She must be expected to do well."

Nancy mused, "I don't think I would put my studies before running for England."

Rodney said, "There are not many of us who would, but it is typical of Titty she does what she wants to do and if people try and stop her it just makes her more determined than ever. Besides Titty believes in what she does at Cambridge." 

"Well," said Nancy, "I hope Titty does have a happy life but somehow...I don't know..." 

They went back to their card games. 

Nancy was back at work the day after Boxing Day, having left Kendal early and reached Newcastle just before nine. Pete had asked to prepare some very detailed figures concerning how they had done over the year and since the Hindley debacle. She was aware it mattered to him a lot, but she wasn't quite sure why. The figures she finalised in the first week of the New Year showed the company had done better than Nancy had thought possible.

Then on the first day of February there was a disaster. Nancy had been completing the end of month figures when the note of an aeroplane engine caught her attention and she knew there was something wrong, very wrong. She rushed outside and saw Mark was coming into land. The plane was in the wrong place and approaching at the wrong angle. Then at the last possible moment the angle of descent changed and Mark landed perfectly but immediately slewed off the runway on to the grass. The plane finally came to rest with its nose in the hedge. Nancy ran across, but she was beaten by Ralph and one of the mechanics. Mark was slumped over the joystick, and it was obviously a miracle that the plane had landed reasonably safely. The men lifted Mark from the cockpit while Nancy ran to the office to check that the staff in the Control Tower had called for an ambulance. Thankfully, they had. Nancy heard the sirens as she raced back to the plane, and since Mr Hughes was nowhere to be seen Nancy went with Mark and the ambulancemen to the hospital, leaving Ralph to try and contact both Mr Hughes and Pete. 

When they arrived at the hospital Mark was still unconscious, and doctors gathered round him and began to conduct various tests. He was still unconscious when Mr Hughes arrived. There seemed nothing for Nancy to do but find her way back to the airport. When she got to the Shed there was a note from Ralph to say Mr Hughes would be going to the hospital, and Pete would be flying back that evening. 

For once Nancy didn't envy him. It was dark and freezing cold on the ground let alone in the air. But it had taken Nancy longer to get back from the hospital than she thought and she had not been in the shed along when Pete arrived. He was tired, cold, and above all anxious. Nancy made him a mug of coffee and a sandwich. They rang the hospital but could find out nothing. 

Pete took Nancy home and told her he would collect her in the morning. Then there was still no news from the hospital: Mark was stable, but still unconscious. Ralph said that as far as he could tell there was nothing wrong with the aircraft. Pete took the plane up with Ralph. The plane seemed fine and they landed without difficulty. Pete told Nancy, "You fly Tiger Lily to Glasgow and continue doing Mark's work until he comes back." 

He and Nancy knew it was not going to be as easy as that, but there was nothing they could do about it. She flew to Millom with a part for the Barrow shipyard and met Georgy but there was no time for a long conversation, although he showed no surprise that Mark had nearly crashed. Nancy wondered what he knew. When she saw Pete she told him. Pete said he would do the next trip to Barrow. The chance came on Friday. The hospital had still failed to find anything wrong, they would just say that Mark was comfortable, and despite many visits Mr Hughes and Pete could find out nothing further. 

In the ensuing days Mark was seen by several doctors, but he remained barely conscious. Covering his clients, Nancy flew to Birmingham and back on Friday while Pete flew to Millom and then to Glasgow and then back to Newcastle. Nancy went on to Nottingham. The last time she had been there it was Mr Hindley. She hated the reminder, but this was no time for sentiment. She and Pete worked through Saturday. That morning Nancy had rung Rosemary and told her she would not be available to play in either team until further notice. Mr Hughes arrived mid morning and said Mark had been told he would not be flying for at least four weeks. Mark was still being kept in hospital, he said, and would be staying there for the time being. 

When Mr Hughes had gone, Pete said, "I'll go and get sandwiches from Mrs Rolls and at lunchtime, I'll tell you what Georgy told me." 

They worked through. As soon as Nancy had made coffee Pete told her, "I wasn't even sure Georgy would be at the hospital, but he was. I had a long conversation with him. He would not tell me where he got his information and I cannot imagine who told him this stuff. According to Georgy, Mark has a heart defect that he has done his best to hide from everyone." Pete was frowning. "Certainly I knew nothing about it, and he has never ever mentioned it to me. According to Georgy, this means that he will always be subject to collapse without any hint. It might happen all his life." He stopped, silent, looking at his shoes. Then he sat up. He said, "It has big implications for us. How can he continue to be a pilot? Do I sanction him flying with a passenger? If this is true I could not agree to him flying with passengers or even at all. I don't know what to do. According to Georgy, he shouldn't be driving a car, let alone flying. He wouldn't tell me how he knew."

Nancy saw Pete's dilemma, but she had no solution. She said, "Do you think Mr Hughes knows?"

Pete looked at her sadly, "I just have no idea. That too has implications. Supposing Mr Hughes knew all the time? Then if I ban Mark from flying, will he withdraw his money? That would finish us." 

Before they left, Pete and Nancy scheduled the work they knew about they had between them. 

Pete and Nancy arranged that Pete would see Mark on Saturday evening, and then Nancy on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday morning, Rosemary rang, and invited Nancy to dinner in the evening. Nancy accepted immediately. She had no desire to make herself a meal and would probably lived on bread and cheese. 

She went to the hospital to see Mark, taking some fruit, but the visit was not a success. He hardly spoke to her and it was as if he resented her more than ever he had. Mr Hughes was there, and seemed more despondent than she had ever seen him. It was as if he knew something that he was unable to say anything about in front of Mark. Nancy came away deciding she would not go again. It seemed pointless. What Georgy Boy had told Pete had taken on a whole new meaning.

She went to Rosemary full of doubt and wondered what would happen. When she had been at her lowest ebb Rosemary had become a confidant, and had proved a true friend. She proved to be so again. Nancy told Rosemary why she'd said she had not been available to play, and added that she did not expect to be free to play for some time. Quite naturally, she was able to tell Rosemary that Mark was perhaps just more ill than they had thought, and that his illness might affect the future of Air Services and her own future. She did so as confident as it was possible to be that what she had told Rosemary would not be passed on, and felt better for having talked about it. 

Monday morning, Nancy flew to Glasgow, on to Grangemouth and back to Newcastle. As the week progressed, it seemed likely it was the busiest since the previous year. Half way through, Pete asked what Nancy intended to do Sunday. Nancy said she had no plans. Pete said that Mr Hughes would like to come and talk to them about Mark, and the future of the company. It seemed things might be settled sooner than had been expected. In fact Nancy enjoyed the busy week: it was the first time she had flown everyday since last Easter. Flying was made more pleasant because the weather was reasonably good. 

Nancy did most of her household chores on Friday evening, and on Saturday after the clerical work had been completed, she went straight to watch the end of the hockey game and joined her team mates for the dinner in the evening. She felt different some how,. disconnected, and left immediately after the meal. At home, she rang Peggy, told her about Mark, and said that she would ring tomorrow if anything significant happened on Sunday. She began a letter to Titty to tell her about her problems, knowing that by Sunday night there might be more to tell her. Nancy slept longer than she meant to do on Sunday morning, and had no time to buy her Sunday paper. 

When she reached the shed Pete was already there. He greeted her almost excitedly with, "Have you seen the Times?"

Nancy said, "No, I got up too late to go and buy it. Why?"

He was grinning, and showed her the paper. "Look at this!"

In the centre of the sports pages was the picture of a woman, a cross country runner in mid stride. Nancy looked, and did not need see the caption to know it was Titty. It was a superb photograph. It even managed to convey the runner was small, but the overriding impression of the runner's fierce determination. 

Nancy turned to the report and read avidly. The reporter was fulsome in his praise, saying that Miss Walker had eclipsed every other runner in the field. 

Pete was curiously cheered up by her friend's success. Nancy thought, 'Well at least I can write my congratulations in the middle of my letter.' 

Then it was time to listen what Mr Hughes had to say, but his words were far from cheerful. Mr Hughes told them that it was only when the doctors talked to him after the accident that he heard of his son's heart problem. He told them he was shocked that Mark had kept it from him, and from them. He went on to say that Mark had known for some time he had a problem, and had been seeing 'some quack', as Mr Hughes described him. Mr Hughes said that the man wasn't qualified, but had prescribed and supplied Mark drugs over a long period. To complicate matters, it had emerged in the past week that Mark had been having an affair with the chap's secretary. He had now broken with his long term Hendon girlfriend. 

This, obviously, came as a nasty surprise to Nancy and Pete.

Mr Hughes said bluntly, "Now all this is out in the open Mark's flying career is over. The doctors' have told me he is never to fly as a pilot again."

Pete was very upset. He said he felt betrayed by Mark, and was uncertain how to proceed. He was angry and sad all at the same time. What would happen to Air Services Ltd now, he shouted.

Mr Hughes sat back in his chair. He asked, "Pete, what will you do if there is a war?" 

"I'd like to be a Spitfire pilot," Pete said, a little puzzled. "But if not I'd join Bomber Command."

Mr Hughes said, "Well, I believe we will be at war shortly. And that would bring Air Services to a natural end, as I assume you would jon the RAF and Nancy would also serve - unless Nancy really wished to continue the business. So in some ways, we are simply pre-empting an inevitable dissolution."

Pete asked, "I understand. But, what about the money you've got invested in the business?" 

Mr Hughes said, "I have no intention in giving up my business. I think there will be plenty of young men wanting to show off in flash cars if there is a war, and. I have no compunction about making a reasonable amount of money out of them. I would give a good, indeed a conscientious service. So, I am happy to retain my investment with you until such time as you decide to shut up shop."

"That's very good of you," Pete said, relieved.

"Now," said Mr Hughes, "What about you, Nancy?"

Nancy thought fast. Then she said, "It has all come as a bit of a shock. First, perhaps I should say I have changed my mind. I am sure there will be a war. Titty says that if it happens, it may well last several years, and I think she probably knows heaps more than I do. Much as I might like to, I cannot see myself running the business without Pete. If there was no war in prospect I might have had a go. But that isn't what I think will happen."

Mr Hughes said, "What will you do?"

Nancy said, "I've no idea. But I am sure there will be opportunities for women with a pilots licence."

It was Pete who said, "Right. If Nancy agrees, we'll leave things as they are for the time being, and she and I will keep the business going. Would Mark, when he is better be prepared to help out in the office?"

Mr Hughes said, "I very much doubt it. If he can't fly I think he'll want out. My guess is he has already decided he'll give up Air Services, though he'll try to go on flying. But I think the flying community know too much already. I had a row with him when I told him I was going to tell you all this."

Pete said grimly, "I'll buy him out, but I'm not prepared to pay him a premium for his share."

Mr Hughes said, "Pete, I think you and I should sit down and have a look at the value of the business and how it might be sold off. But in the meantime, if you and Nancy would like to keep the business going that would be fine. I think I might know some one who would come and do clerical work for you."

"That sounds good to me," said Nancy.

"And me," said Pete.

"Right," said Mr Hughes, "Two other things. Firstly, and I'm sorry about this. don't visit Mark. I'm afraid you're not welcome. Nor am I, but I shall continue to go until such time as I'm told I'm not wanted." 

He fell into silence. They were all miserable and unhappy, contemplating not only Mark's illness and the threat to their business, but the possibility of an engulfing war. In an attempt to cheer them all up, Nancy made coffee and found some leftover ginger biscuits. 

When she took the tray through into the office, Mr Hughes was looking at the paper she'd left open. He said..."I really think this is one of the finest sports photographs I've seen. What a picture. What a girl she must be, Nancy. Look at it, just look at it." 

Then Mr Hughes confirmed he might be able to find someone to do the clerical work.

Pete and Nancy were busy all the next week. But when she came in on Friday, Nancy must have looked worried. 

Pete asked her, "What's the matter with you?"

Nancy said, "It's Titty. I wrote to her on Sunday and posted the letter at three. I tried phoning her on Tuesday and got no answer, nor on Wednesday. She always replies promptly, and I notice they said in the paper she collapsed at the end of that race. She's always run erself into the ground, but now I'm wondering what happened."

By Monday when Pete asked, Nancy still had heard nothing, and she was even more concerned. She said she had rung Peggy, who had heard nothing either. Then on Saturday when Nancy came in she said to Pete, "I have had a note from Titty's college to say she no longer works there. They have sent my letter on to Shotley Mll, and write that all future correspondence should be sent there. It makes no sense." 

Pete showed her his newspaper. At the bottom of a sports page there was a one line statement: "Miss Walker will not participate in any further athletic event this year. She is in good health."

Nancy said, "I'd have missed that. If I don't hear by the end of next week I'll write to Mrs Walker. I'm so anxious about her. It is so unlike her."

They had completed the clerical work on Saturday in time for Nancy to go to watch the end of the first eleven match, but she went straight home afterwards. There was still no letter from Titty.

The next week was much like the previous one, except the weather was worse. 

On Friday when Nancy got back, she found Pete had still not returned. There was a note pinned to her desk that read, 'Please try and be in by 8, Mr Hughes will bring the new bloke about ten.' 

Nancy went home. She had to give the door an extra push, for a large envelope was jamming the door. Once inside she hooted with delight: the envelope was addressed in Titty's plain, legible handwriting. Relieved, Nancye made herself a coffee, ripped open the envelope, and began to read. 

Titty's first paragraph was about her Sheffield victory, saying that she considered the press euphoria was out of all proportion. Titty even recounted how she had collapsed into Robert's arms, making his jacket filthy. 

'As if he cared about that,' thought Nancy. 

Titty went on to write how she had been sick again and again, and had to washed and dressed by two very kind St John's Ambulance ladies. How kind Maria and the Swedish girl Olga, who had been second and third, had been.   
Nancy remembered seeing the picture of them, in which it seemed they practically holding Titty up. Then, how the journalists had bothered her in the café where they had stopped for a meal.

By this time Nancy was nearly going mad, for nothing Titty had said indicated why she had left Cambridge. Then it came. 

'On Monday morning,' Titty wrote, 'I was called into the Principal's office, and had an interview with some civil servants and the Admiral you met at Plymouth.' 

Nancy recalled the tall craggy faced man who had put his arm round Titty in a fatherly way. 

'It lasted into the afternoon,' Titty wrote, ' And was a bit wearing. The upshot is that my career at Cambridge is over, at least for the time being and perhaps for ever. Anyway, at least for the duration of the war, I expect. I am now a civil servant. But it is a secret establishment and the only people who are allowed to know where it is are people with clearance. Daddy knows, but I can tell no-one else. I think Daddy knew I was to go there before I did. I've been there nearly a week, and am staying with a lovely family, but I've just got a few clothes. Things are a bit chaotic, and I don't know where my things are. My athletic career to has come to an end since I have had to promise not to run because of the publicity. At least I went out with a bang. Please keep writing to me, but send the letters home to Shotley and the War Office will send them on. Obviously, I won't be able tell you anything about what I do, but I can still write to you regularly.' 

Titty had gone on to recount what John, Roger and Bridget were doing. How Susan had moved to a small west country town where her husband had taken a teaching job. The letter told Nancy a lot about Roger, and where he had been. 

Nancy noted it omitted to tell her where John was, or had been, and did not even mention on which ship he was serving. As she read, in the space of thirty minutes, the war seemed almost to have been declared. Nancy made her dinner and ate it reading the letter a second time. She wondered whatever kind of interview could last the best part of six hours. That was an hour longer than the time the police had taken to interview her when she had to confess to having had an affair. Titty must have still been exhausted after Saturday's race. 

Two things struck her. Titty must be very good at translation and that she, in some ways, must have a rotten life because peoples' expectations of her were so very high. Nancy would not enjoy uprooting her whole life the way Titty had done. She noticed the letter had a London post mark, but it did not sound as though Titty was working in London. 

Still thinking, Nancy rang Peggy, who had also had a letter, a very short one, with the promise of a longer one later. 

Later, Nancy put the letter in her hand bag; she would show Pete, for he had always been interested in Titty.

In the morning, Pete came in looking jaded. He said he had not got back until half past eight the previous night. Nancy said, "I've had a letter from Titty. She's alright."

"Thank goodness for that," Pete said, and went on, "Mr Hughes is bringing this young bloke in. You remember we went to the Robson's after that race?"

"Yes," said Nancy.

"Mr Robson wants his youngest son to gain experience in another business, before he joins the family company in some role. He sounds very young, but he could be useful."

The Robson boy was young just, out of school, an institution which he evidently hadn't enjoyed. He seemed quite a sensible lad, and Nancy and Pete set him a few jobs that he did rather slowly and conscientiously. 

Mr Hughes said he would spend time with young Master Robson for the two or three weeks. He was to be paid £104 a year to start with, and with that wage he was over the moon. Master Robson would be brought in and taken home by Mr Hughes from his home. 

After Master Robson left to wait at the car, Mr Hughes told Nancy and Pete that Mark was now considered out of danger, but was to be kept in hospital for another fortnight. The doctors had had a row with him over the quack he had been seeing. Mark was very grumpy, but had conceded to agree that he would not see the man anymore. Mark had accepted, Mr Hughes said, that his job as a pilot with Air Services was over. 

In fact they never saw Mark again.

Mr Hughes took young Maurice Robson home just before lunch, leaving Nancy and Pete to Mrs Roll's sandwiches, cut extra thick because it was Saturday. Nancy gave Pete Titty's letter to read. He read it quite slowly and then handed it back to Nancy. 

Pete said, "She runs her heart out, and then they say she can't compete any more because of the publicity. Then they take her away from the place she loves and where she has always wanted to be, and put her into some rotten office."

"How do you know all that?" asked Nancy.

Pete said, "I don't, I'm just guessing. When did Titty start doing translation for the navy?"

Nancy thought for a minute and said, "I think she first did translation at Shotley, before she left school, or certainly before she went to Cambridge."

Pete said angrily, "Damn the bloody war. And damn that horrible man Hitler mucking up peoples' lives. You know the trouble with Titty, don't you?"

"No," said Nancy, a little crossly. 

"She's too good at what she does, so they give her hell," Pete said. 

Nancy could see there was probably a good deal of truth in what he had said. She took a fierce bite into her sandwich. 

Maurice Robson proved a godsend. Despite his youth and the fact he had evidently been a failure at school he was very reliable, and was good if not brilliant at adding up money. He was a bit slow, especially when he first joined, but made that up by being careful and accurate. He showed admirable application. 

Nancy and Pete gradually got out of him that he hated rugger but loved football, and was good at it. He was small and fast, but hated being grabbed and pushed about. He had been bullied at school, though he seemed to be no milksop. He had got on the wrong side of some of the masters, and made no friends. But his father had made him stay on, even when Maurice's elder brother had pleaded with him to take Maurice away from that school and send him to another.

It became evident that his relations with his father were uneasy, but Maurice idolised his elder brother. 

As the weeks went by he became wholly reliable. One day Nancy heard that the village football team were short of a man, and asked him if he would like to play. For the rest of the season he played for the village team, playing on the wing and scoring in most games. The members of the team were careful with him, and someone would always take him home. 

Thereafter he thought Nancy was wonderful.

Pete paid off Mark, and he and Mr Hughes worked out how they could sell off the business. It seemed likely that Nancy would go and work for their rivals in the other shed. She was not over the moon about the idea, but the job would suffice. It became increasing ly clear that this was her only option as the year went on. 

It seemed more and more likely that the war would begin soon. Pete's enquiries about joining the RAF began. He had a medical examination, and cleared that hurdle. He was taken up by an instructor, and told he would be recruited as soon as he was needed. He and Mr Hughes talked to their rivals, and they negotiated a price that was lower than both had hoped. There was no final agreement. There was an understanding they would probably take Nancy on, but they seemed no keener on Nancy that she was on them. They would buy one of the aircraft but not Tiger Lily.

Nancy began to correspond regularly with Titty. Titty never gave Nancy a clue about where she was living, nor did she tell Nancy anything about what she did, only that it was rather boring and she was working long hours. As Nancy said to Pete, for to be Titty doing something that was boring must be close to purgatory, and if Titty admitted she was working hard goodness knows what that meant. She had, Nancy knew, always worked hard. 

But Titty's letters were still interesting and fun. She had been lucky to find good lodgings with a friendly family where there were a boy and a girl. The girl was clever, and would be going to the grammar school in September. The boy was for ever making models. Nancy wondered what the children made of Titty and her academic brilliance. She told Nancy that she occasionally did meals if the lady of the house had to be out. Nancy got the impression Titty was enjoying living with a family. She thought with Titty to help her, the girl would probably do suspiciously well at school. But Nancy grew frustrated because there was never any clue where Titty was working, and the name of the people she was staying with was never revealed. 

In her letters, Titty rued the fact that she would not be going to Lucerne. There was to be no language school. She missed the Cambridge climbing club meets, but had bought a new bicycle and went out for long rides. She had joined a local cycling club. 

'Trust Titty to find a means of keeping fit,' Nancy thought. 

There were lawn tennis courts where she worked and a number of the employees played tennis regularly. 'Not me,' Titty had written. 'I couldn't hit a ball for toffee.' At least once a month she went to Scotland and spent the weekend or a bit longer with Robert, walking and climbing. She mentioned a few places, and Nancy got the impression Titty was now climbing way above any standard Nancy herself had ever reached. Once Titty told her the details of a walk they had done, and Nancy worked out that it must have been way over twenty miles. 

Then one Monday morning at work, Maurice did not show. Worried, Nancy rang his home and got no reply. Maurice had taken to riding in to the Shed from his home in Newcastle, and was absolutely reliable,. They were afraid he had had an accident. Both Nancy and Pete had flights to make, but Nancy would be back just before lunch. When she reached the Shed, Maurice was there working away. He looked a picture of misery and had obviously been crying. Nancy was to fly to Millom with an important part, but decided her customer would have to wait. She rang Georgy to warn him, and he did not question her about what emergency held her up, but said he would square it with the shipbuilders. 

After some persuasion Nancy got the story out of Maurice. His father had eloped with his secretary, but Maurice had seen them leaving. His father had told him that he would kill him if he told his mother or brother within twenty four hours. He hadn't. And only afterwards had they discovered Mr Robson had left the family for good, taking most of his money with him. Maurice now felt terribly guilty, even if no one was laying any blame on him for what had happened. 

Shocked, Nancy asked Maurice if he would like to go home, and he had shaken his head. 

There was nothing Nancy could do, and she was horribly aware she had to fly to Millom, where of course she was late. Georgy assured her that the shipbuilders were being understanding because of their previous reliability. Nancy explained some of the situation, and Georgy volunteered to take the part on from Millom to Clydesbank, to the shipbuilders. Grateful, Nancy flew hack to Newcastle, but it was after six when she got back and Maurice had left. 

In the morning shortly, after she arrived, Maurice came in with his elder brother. Alan Robson asked if he could have a word with her, and said, "You get on with your work, Mo, while I talk to Miss Blackett and explain things to her." 

Nancy used Pete's office. Alan Robson was, Nancy judged, a good ten years older than his brother. He was quite open about all that had happened, filling in one or two details that Mo had not told her. They were in a mess, and his own future was in jeopardy. The Company the older Mr Robson had been running was apparently partly owned by another, and now of course the directors were furious. 

"It is all understandable," said Alan, " But it does not help me much at present. I had to beg for time off to see you. I ought to be trying to sort out my mother and the family finances." He told Nancy, "Mo loves working here, and I can only thank you for all you've done for him. Now I think the best thing for him would be to have to get on with the work you give him, but if things don't get done quite as they should maybe you could make allowances for him for a week or two."

Nancy assured him they would, and that she would keep her eye on Maurice and she was sure Mr Hughes would do the same. Nancy thought Alan looked pathetically grateful. He drove away in a little Morris much the same as her own. Nancy recognised the car, and realised then that Thomas Robson worked in the engineering shed next door to their own offices.

Maurice looked a little better after his brother had explained the situation. But he was not himself, which was understandable. 

Mr Hughes was in by then, so Nancy went to see him. It was all news to him, but he said he would keep his eye on Maurice. Nancy rang from Mr Hughes' office, traced Pete, and told him what had happened. They agreed to treat Maurice as understand On the Friday Maurice said he'd like to come in on Saturday. He did, and Nancy and Pete went through the work he had done with him. There was no need, they found nothing wrong with what he had done, but he was a bit behind. He had caught up by the time he left on Saturday, and. Pete had asked him to do a special project about how much work they had done for their major customers. By Monday morning, he seemed almost back to normal, but Maurice told Nancy that they were going to have to make all sorts of changes at home. Nancy gathered there was now much less money. Mr Robson had been traced to the South of France where he had set up home with his mistress, and had already used the money to buy property. But Maurice did not know more than that. 

One evening a month later his brother turned up, asking if Maurice could have the Friday and Monday off as they were moving house. He mentioned that his sister was the one whom the upheavel had hit hardest.

Nancy said, "Yes, of course, Maria, Titty's friend."

Alan looked at her in astonishment and said, "How did you know that?"

Nancy reminded him, "Pete and I came to your home after the race when Maria beat Titty."

Alan said, "I remember now. That was the last time Maria beat Titty. My word, Titty was fast. That was until the government carted her off somewhere. She was, no is, a good friend of Maria's. How well did you know Titty?"

Nancy said, "I've known Titty since she was a young schoolgirl - we used to go on holiday together. We used to camp near my home in the Lake District. How about you? Is your future more secure?"

Alan said, "Yes, it is. The directors have been very good to me, and I've still got a job. By the way, you don't know anyone who's got a plane to sell and a pilot who wouldn't mind flying part time, do you? If you hear of such things could you let me know?" 

Nancy said, "I'll ask around."

Alan said, "Well if you hear of one, tell Mo and he'll pass it on. And thank you all so much for keeping him on and looking after him." 

With that he left. Nancy thought, 'Well, perhaps the aircraft could be Tiger Lily and the pilot, me. I'll think about it tonight and speak to Pete in the morning, whatever I think."

In the morning when they stopped for coffee, Nancy told Pete what Alan had said. Pete looked at her, "Are you interested?"

Nancy said, "I am, or rather I'd like to know more about why he wants a pilot and what he wants him or her to do, Do you know anything about this company?"

Pete said, "I don't know a thing, but Mr Hughes does. You really don't want to work for the lot next door, do you?" 

She said, "No, I don't. But don't ask me why because I don't know."

He said, "Let me think about it, and how best to approach them. I'll talk to Mr Hughes about it without mentioning you might be interested in the pilot's job. Leave it with me. I'll come back to you when we meet up on Wednesday, which I think is the first time I'll see you after the weekend."

Pete did. He told Nancy he had spoken to Alan. He had told him that after initial hesitation the directors had promised Alan not just a job, but if things went well he might be made a director. Mr Hughes had said the company was sound and well run. When Pete had told Mr Hughes what Alan had said about the pilot's job, Mr Hughes said that he thought Pete should pursue the offer. 

Pete had already spoken to Mo, who had in turn spoken to Alan, who had told Pete he'd like to meet up on the Saturday. Alan arrived with Mo, and went in to talk with Pete straight away. After a while Pete invited Nancy in. 

Alan seemed a bit shy about specifics, but explained that his company wanted the plane because they were making aircraft parts, particularly instruments. He said, "We want a aircraft to test them. So the pilot not only needs to pilot the plane, but make notes about how well the instruments work. And this isn't our only workshop, so if we had a plane we would be able to fly bits about the country if absolutely necessary. But it's not a fulltime job and the pilot would have to work part time somewhere else." Alan told them he was the engineer in charge of the instrument making side of the company, which is how he knew about their need for a test plane.

Alan also wanted to know how reliable Mo was. Nancy and Pete were able to assure him on that point. 

Pete told him, "As you know, my partner's illness means that we are probably selling up. so we are likely to have a plane for sale, as our present buyers only want one."

Alan said, "Look, I am in no position to make the final decision, but I'll consult my boss and come back to you as soon as I can."

When he had gone, Pete turned to Nancy ans asked, "What do you think?"

Nancy said, "Well, I'd be interested in the pilot's job."

Pete then said, "Nancy, today I had a letter from the RAF. They want me to for a test flight in a Hurricane. It seems to me things might just be coming together. I'm convinced Alan's company would buy Tiger Lily at a reasonable price, and if you like that job it would be a good solution to our problems."

On the Wednesday of the following week Pete met up with Alan and his boss, a Peter Dixon. They were still at the airfield when Nancy flew in that evening. She had come from Aberdeen with parts from a small shipbuilder. It had been one of those days. She had had to wait around for two hours at Aberdeen for the goods. It had rained all the way south, and Nancy was wet dishevelled and more out of sorts than usual, but Pete told her. Mr Dixon wanted to see her immediately. Nancy thought grimly, 'Here I am, still in my flying gear, looking like a scarecrow, and I'm to be interviewed for a job that may decide my future. Well, here goes.' 

Mr Dixon was with Alan in the office. He apologised for the short notice, and made no comment about her appearance. He was a tall spare man with a rather stern face.

When they sat down to talk, Peter Dixon went through Nancy's career to date. He asked briefly about her first job, and the circumstances of Cragside Hotel. They got on to her career with Air Services and he seemed to know all about the business with Mr Hindley. "Please tell me briefly about this incident and its outcome?" 

It had come without warning, and Nancy told him the story as she now saw it, ending with "I was a fool, Mr Dixon, and since I've sought to do my best to change my ways." 

Then came a shock. Mr Dixon asked, "You've known Titty Walker for sometime. Do you think she would provide you with a personal reference?"

Nancy said, "I expect so."

"Do you have her current address?" Mr Dixon asked.

Nancy had to explain how Titty was working for the government, and that she had to write to Shotley, from where letters would be sent on to Titty.

Mr Dixon had turned to Alan and said, "Might Maria know?"

Alan said, "No, she doesn't even know where Ralph lives."

Mr Dixon said, "Crumbs." 

At Nancy's dictation he took down the Walker's Shotley address. It was the first occasion that he had shown much humanity, but the 'crumbs' was a sudden piece of informality. 

"Very well," Mr Dixon said, "I'll let you know whether we'll take you on Friday. Can I see you then?" 

Nancy said, "I'm fully committed up until Friday evening, and I'm unlikely to back here until seven at the earliest."

"What about Saturday?" he said. 

Nancy told him, "I'll be here from about eight."

Mr Dixon said, "I'll see you Saturday morning."

Nancy had to be content with that. Mr Dixon and Alan left. Pete was still around. He asked rather despondently, "What was the outcome?"

Nancy said, "He'll be here on Saturday, and will see me then."

Pete said, "No more than that? I had expected it to be settled today. That Mr Dixon plays his cards close to his chest."

Nancy said, "He wants a personal reference from Titty. But I cannot see he can get a reference back from Titty by Saturday. I wonder if I'm the first person to have a reference from Titty. I better write to Titty tonight."

Pete said despondently, "I would. Write. I did hope it would all be sorted out by tonight. We've nearly settled with next door, but if we don't get more than they are prepared to pay at present plus anything for Tiger Lily and our arrangements with Ralph, we won't know whether we've got much profit. For us it is a question of whether we've made any decent money from Air Services." 

Nancy put on a better skirt and blouse than she usually did on Saturday morning. She reached the Shed about ten minutes to eight. Pete was already in the room, and on the phone. Mo had arrived just before eight. Just after eight o'clock, Mr Dixon arrived while Pete still on the phone. Nancy asked him if he would like a drink and he said he'd have a tea. She made herself and Pete a coffee each, and Mr Dixon a tea. She was about to pour Mo his tea when she heard Mr Dixon say, "Shove off for half an hour Mo, like a good chap. I need a chat with Miss Blackett." 

Nancy heard Mo leave. She brought through the drinks. Mr Dixon was sitting by the desk and looked very relaxed, Nancy realized he was dressed in slacks and a sweater. 

Mr Dixon said, "Look, I'm not going to prolong your agony. If I can reach agreement with Peter over the plane, and I'm sure I can, we would like you to join us. I haven't had a reply from Miss Walker but I do not imagine that will change things, though we have asked her some very specific questions. Now let's go into the details."

Nancy said, "Thank you, thank you very much."

Mr Dixon then outlined the job that he had in mind, and it was evident that there was far more to the job than Nancy had assumed. It was to involve selling the instruments as well as testing them. Mr Dixon told her that at present sales were being dealt with by an elderly man who was wishing to retire. He said, "You'll need to spend time with him to get to grips with the products we make." 

Delving in a brief case, he brought out a booklet and handed it to her with the words. "This is the current catalogue. This will need updating as soon as possible. You'll have to liaise with Alan Robson to do that. And before Mo gets back, I should tell you we intend to take him on, so he will be your first member of staff. I gather from Alan that he gets on well with you."

Pete opened his door,, and Mr Dixon got up and went into the office. 

Quite suddenly, Nancy felt life looked a whole lot rosier than it had for ages. During her conversation with Mr Dixon she had felt bound to point out that she had done very little selling in her life. He had cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "That may prove an advantage rather than a disadvantage. You are not selling toiletries, you'll be selling a technical product. If we go to war, the development of these products will change out of all recognition, and selling will change too. We need someone who knows what they are talking about."

Mr Dixon spent an hour with Pete and emerged looking pleased. He said, "Cherrio,." and waved as he went out the door.

To Nancy's surprise Pete asked Mo in, and spent half and hour with him. Mo came out looking totally bemused, but. Pete emerged looking amused. He asked Nancy, "Be a sport Nancy, and get us another coffee and bring it in?" 

She did. Pete was sitting writing when she went in, but looked up and indicated the chair. When he'd finished the letter he asked. "You haven't to play tennis this afternoon, have you?"

Nancy said slightly mystified, "No? I thought you and I were likely to working through the weekend. Is that alright?"

Pete was looking pleased with himself. He said, "Well, on Wednesday I was at my wits end. I thought everything was going pear shaped. Now everything has changed for the better. The price that our friends next door were offering was miserable, but they've improved it. Mr Hughes went to see them, and somehow hinted we had another buyer. Which is partially true."

Nancy said, "Come on then, tell me all." 

So Pete began a long talk. He started by telling her that she hadn't finished with him, because he was to be retained by Peter Dixon as a consultant, providing it was acceptable to the RAF. 

Then he went on to Maurice, for whom he said Mr Dixon had plans. "I think that was why Alan was not with him," Pete said. "Mr Dixon enquired closely what responsibility he had had, and what he had done. Somewhere along the line Mr Dixon must have an interest in Mo, and has plans that apart from offering him a job, hoped to do something about his education. "It was not until I stopped to think," Pete said, "That I realised just how much responsibility we had given him. Probably I gave him too much, just as I did you." 

Then Pete told Nancy how Mr Dixon had made in depth enquiries about her, and somewhere along the line had learned the barest outline about the Hindley affair. "I had to tell him far more than I intended, so it was a good job your account tallied with mine." 

Nancy told Pete, "When I realized how much he knew I thought I was finished. I'd like to know what he asked Titty." 

"Oh, he asked for Titty?" Pete said. "Well, you'll be alright there. I'd hazard a guess in the end you'll do very well out of this, except you'll do less flying." I'm over the moon that everything is sorted out. And in part at least, began because of going to watch that cross country race when Titty raced. By the way, you know I worry about her? I'm not sure I'd fancy working somewhere so secret that only my mum knew where I was." 

Nancy told him she did not either, but that Titty had always been very independent and did her own thing regardless. 

Nancy and Pete worked through until late Saturday, and again through much of Sunday to prepare a paper on all aspects of the business. Pete used much of Monday when he wasn't speaking to the purchasers to cover some of what he and Nancy would have normally done on Saturday. The potential owners decided that they would retain the name Air Services Ltd, inserting their own name in brackets after the Services.

On Monday morning Nancy had flown south, doing the work Pete had previously been scheduled to do. She was back on Wednesday. Early Thursday she was flying south again, and returned lunchtime Friday on to take off almost immediately north. She was back in Newcastle by eight thirty Saturday morning, just in time to take a call from Mr Dixon. He asked if he could come round straight away, with Alan. There, he borrowed Pete's office to talk to Nancy.

Mr Dixon told Nancy they would take her on at the same salary that she was paid by Air Services. He had a letter from Titty, which he described with a grin as satisfactory. "Young Miss Walker," he said, "Had answered all his questions, and had nice things to say about Nancy. "Your friend has an enviable command of the English language," he added. 

Nancy often wondered just what Titty had said about her. 

Mr Dixon told her she was to begin on the first Monday of August, while Mo was to start a week earlier. Air Services had just one full week of operations and then, from the last Monday of July, the new owners would be in place. Nancy would be with them for two days, but Pete would be gone. 

That last week was busy, and there was a slight feeling of sadness on Saturday as they closed down Air Services down. Before they left late on Saturday afternoon Pete gave Nancy a cheque for £150 from the proceeds of the business, for her part in those last fourteen months of operations. Nancy and Pete had a meal, and invited Mo along too. 

On the Wednesday Nancy went to Kendal, and stayed a couple of nights with Peggy doing little but talk. Peggy told Nancy that Rodney would volunteer as soon as war was declared. In the course of conversation she told Nancy that she thought Bernard would see out the war in jail. To Nancy, her relationship with Bernard seemed an awfully long time ago, and she was conscious she had no feelings for him whatsoever.

She reported for work at Robson Instruments Ltd on Monday morning. There, she was given a brief introduction and shown the instruments she would be responsible for selling. By Tuesday afternoon she was flying south with Alan in the rear cockpit on her first sales mission, and when they returned on Wednesday it was with a substantial order. 

Nancy was vastly impressed with Alan's technical expertise, but as he freely admitted to her he was no salesman. When she went home on Wednesday night Nancy had an awful lot to think about, knowing that she was green as grass at sales techniques and had it all to learn. By Friday, she knew she was going to enjoy it but had so much to learn it seemed like the Eiger. 

At least she had no to time to lament the passing of Air Services Ltd. Her new job began a whole new chapter in her life.

She wrote to Titty about what had happened, and thanked her for the letter Titty had written. By way of reply, she received a brief letter telling her that all three of the Walkers in the Navy would be at sea by the end of September, and that Titty herself had to work long, demanding hours she found monotonous and gruelling. The letter was almost a complaint. 

Nancy had never had a letter like it from Titty.


	24. War

Titty was a little bemused. She had got off at the dowdy little station with a suitcase and a rucksack, asked directions to the guest house in to which the Ministry had booked her until she found a permanent room, and found her way there. She supposed it was just about clean, but the place was in stark contrast to the sparkling cleanliness of the farmhouses of Mrs Braithwaite and Mrs Jackson. Titty rang two of the addresses of accommodation she had been given, and had the chance to see them that evening before dinner. One was filthy dirty, and at the second she was invited in by a man who leered at her. It was not a good start. Then the evening meal was uninspired. The breakfast, made by the man of the house at seven thirty, was rather better. 

She caught the bus to her place of work, and joined a number of others walking towards the grand Victorian house in what seemed to be extensive grounds. In the entrance hall there was a woman receptionist who took Titty's name, but seemed somewhat confused. Titty suddenly noticed she was looking for her name among the H's on the list, so she repeated her name. The woman beamed at her and said, "I'm so sorry I am so confused. It is the first time I've been given this job. Can you just hang on a minute? There should be another new starter this morning." 

What happened to the other new person, or who they were, Titty never learnt. When she had waited ten minutes the woman said briskly, "We're not waiting around here any longer. I'll show you to the room where you'll be working." 

The house was cold, that February morning, a lot colder than college, and Titty already wished she had brought a sweater. The lady led her up a wide staircase and along the corridor. There were three desks in a large room. One was empty, one had papers piled on it, rather untidily, and on the other there were three very familiar looking envelopes. The woman went straight to that desk and said, "This is yours. Mr Button said this was the first of the work, and there is some foolscap paper and a pen in the desk." 

On the mantle shelf over the empty grate Titty noticed several dictionaries. 

The lady said, "Mr Button won't be back until Saturday morning, but he said you might like to try your hand at what is in those envelopes. Oh, and the toilets are down the corridor." 

It all seemed a bit vague. "Is there anywhere I can get a drink, or something to eat at lunchtime?" Titty asked. 

The lady told her she brought a lunch from home and wasn't sure about the cafeteria, but went to the cupboard in which there was a kettle, a jar of coffee and some milk. The milk was off. Titty thanked her lucky stars she had an apple and a sandwich and a bar of chocolate left over from yesterday's lunch in her rucksack. The lady left, and Titty investigated. There was some paper in the desk drawer, which at least had a key. The paper was very cheap, and Titty knew it would blot if she used a fountain pen on it. In the cupboard there some pads of rather better paper, and she was thankful for that, for she had bought her own pens and some ink. 

Prepared, she ripped open the envelopes and pulled out the contents. There were two sets of documents from Mr Dow, the first with a note that told her that he no longer had any control over what work she received, but would try and keep an eye on things if he could. In the second envelope there was another note from Mr Dow telling her this should take priority. The third envelope contained further papers and note: "This is required urgently - Cuthbertson". 

Titty read through the opening paragraphs of each set, and made a decision to do Mr Dow's translation first. Looking at the length, she guessed it would keep her busy until at least Saturday morning. It was not very technical, but seemed to be not the sort of thing to be left around. With the pack beside her she began to write, steadily and uninterrupted all day. At ten to six she packed her papers away in the drawer and attached the key, leaving just in time for the bus home. 

The bus took her back into the little town in time to visit three more lodgings before dinner. At one there appeared to be no one about, although the door opened. The second house looked appallingly grim from the outside. There was a third, a large and rather grand property where a woman several years older than herself showed Titty into a very smart bedroom. The house had a chilly feel, and was grand and immaculate, and when Titty enquired into the price it was far higher than that quoted on the paper she had been given. She left, saying she might return. Once again at the guest house the meal was distinctly unappetising. Titty made appointments to see two more properties the next day. Initially she thought it would be interesting to find a place to live, now she was in despair. She read herself to sleep, woke early and failed to doze, so she read until it was time to get up. 

The breakfast of scrambled egg was really very nicely done, and Titty tried the marmalade at a fellow lodger's suggestion and it was very tasty. Seeing her dipping into the marmalade a second time, her host told her he had made it to a special recipe given him by his mother. He told her that on Friday nights his wife went out, and therefore Titty would be the only guest eating in tonight. He asked if she would like fish and chips, so she told him she would. 

Titty had taken the precaution of buying sandwiches and a cake from the newsagents. It was as well she did, because after she had signed in she saw no one all day. She went for a quick walk round the house at lunchtime, but there was hardly anyone about. Her uninterrupted day meant she was well on the way through the material in the first envelope. 'With luck,' she thought, 'I might finish this tomorrow.' She left again at ten minutes to six, and went to view the fifth room. It was better, reasonably clean, at the back of the house, and the bed was comfortable. But the woman talked incessantly, and insisted Titty went first up the stairs, following her so closely she was very nearly tripped up. Titty was nearly driven to distraction and got out of the house as quickly as she could. 

By now she despaired of finding somewhere to live. It might have to the immaculate house with its high rent and grand lady. There was one more room to see before she went back for her fish and chips. She found the road, of rather dull looking Victorian houses. The ones on the West side of the road backed on to the railway, and Titty heard a goods train puffing its way along behind the houses. When she found Number 62, the door had been brightly painted and the exterior and the houses on either side were in good repair. Titty knocked, a woman came to the door, and a small boy peeped round from behind her. She welcomed Titty into the hall. The place was clean and tidy, and waterproof jackets hung on the hallstand. The smell of something good drifted through into the hall. The woman took Titty up two flights of stairs to a room that had been built into the roof, so that the ceiling sloped at the perimeter of the room. The furniture was very plain, but there was a table and a hard backed chair, and an easy chair with faded upholstery that looked comfortable. There was a comfortable looking bed and a built in cupboard. Better still, the room smelt clean. The lady said, "Can I leave you to look round while I go down and do something to the dinner? Then I'll be back. You'll find the bathroom on the floor below!" 

Titty looked round the room and into the cupboard, roomy, but there was little hanging space. On the other side of the room there were shelves. She went down to the bathroom, which was clean and tidy, too. The lady had still not come upstairs, so Titty went downstairs and knocked on the kitchen door. Unless they quoted a price well above the one on Titty's paper, she had already decided she would try and settle up with the woman, a Mrs Ridley. 

She opened the door looking flustered, "I'm sorry," she said, "Sue asked me a question about her homework, and it took longer to answer than I expected." There was a girl of about twelve obviously doing her homework at the kitchen table, and the boy who had peeped round his mother's skirts was at the table working on a model. Mrs Ridley asked, "Have you seen all you need to, Miss Walker?"

Titty said, "Yes. I like the room very much, but can you confirm what you would charge?"

Mrs Ridley quoted the figure shown on the paper and went on, "I am happy to do any washing you need done for the price, but meals would be extra should you want them. I would not want to do them every night, but you may use the kitchen whenever you want."

Titty said, "That would be fine."

Mrs Ridley said, "I would expect you to keep the room reasonably clean and tidy but we have cleaning materials and you can use them." 

The little boy Steve said, "I'm making an engine," to no one in particular. 

Titty said, "Are you? Is that the tender?" 

"Yes," he said, without looking up.

"It's very good," Titty said, because it was.

Steve looked up at her with big eyes, and said, "It needs painting. And one of the wheels doesn't go round properly." He went back to his model. 

Mrs Ridley looked at Titty, who smiled. She smiled shyly back. She asked, "Are you sure you'd like it?"

"Yes," said Titty, "I'm due to leave my lodgings today week."

"That would be fine, but should you want to come in before, the room is available." 

Titty leapt at the idea, "I'll see what I can arrange," she said. "But I must go now. or I'll be late for my meal."

She was seen out by Mrs Ridley, and walked quickly back to the guest house. The fish and chips smelled good, but not as interesting as Mrs Ridley's meal had smelt. She just had time to wash her hands and came down to the dining room. Her host was just looking in the dinning room, and asked if he could bring it through. The fish was very nice and the chips excellent. He served jam rolypoly with home made custard for sweet, andbrought coffee afterwards, hot and steaming and black just as Titty liked it. "May I bring mine in?" he asked.

Titty said, "Yes, of course." 

He asked how she was getting on finding somewhere to live. Titty told him she had just found somewhere. He enquired where, and when Titty told him he said immediately, "Ah, Ian's, you won't do better than that. I didn't know the Ridley's were taking in a lodger. Good chap is Ian, and so is June, two of the best. Ian used to be the 50 mile time trial champion round here, he works for the railway."

Titty said a little lamely, "I liked the room. It was very clean."

Her host said, "It would be, always," and then, "Miss Walker, does that mean your room is available?" 

Titty said, "Yes, it is, why?"

He looked at her and said, "We have a party coming to stay, and if you could go to the Ridley's over the weekend we could use your room." 

Titty tried not to sound as enthusiastic as she was when she said, "Yes, well, if Mrs Ridley wouldn't mind, I could do that."

Her host said, "I'll ring June for you."

He left the room, put his head round the door a minute or two later and asked "Would you move in tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course," said Titty.

He came back a minute later and said, "It's all arranged, if you come back here after work tomorrow I'll run you round in my car."

So suddenly, what had seemed a huge hurdle was solved in the space of just over an hour. 

At breakfast her host thanked her profusely for her co-operation, and told her he thought, "A quiet young woman like you will enjoy living with the Ridleys. They are a lovely couple, and their children are being properly brought up." 

Titty got the bus out to the big house again. A man got off the bus ahead of her and walked up the drive in front of her. Suddenly it dawned on her it was Ralph. She caught him up and said, "Ralph!" 

He spun round, almost alarmed, and exclaimed, "Titty! How wonderful to see you. I knew it wouldn't be too long before they dragged you into this dump."

He did something she had never imagined him doing. He linked his arm into hers straight away and they walked up the drive together. He asked how Robert was, and she asked after Maria. Titty told him Robert was in rude health and she intended to ring him tonight. "That's a relief. Oh, it is so good to see you. Look I must hurry, I am travelling to Newcastle this afternoon for a couple of days with Maria. It will be the first time I've seen her for ages. When I come back I'll dig you out and you can fill me in with what's happening in the big wide world. The last thing I heard of you, you'd made the papers." 

Titty made a face, and Ralph laughed. "You are just the same as ever. Gosh, its good to see you. Maria will be pleased. She's been worried about you."

"Do say hello to her for me! And see you soon!" Titty said, as she went up the steps.

"See you!" Ralph said, as he disappeared round the side of the building. 

Titty climbed the stairs with a lighter heart, got her papers out, and started work again. Half an hour later a man walked into the room. He was rather shabbily dressed, and had a mop of unruly hair. He stopped at the doorway and then came forward, held out his hand with its long delicate fingers, and said "Good morning, I'm Robin Button. You must be Miss Walker."

Titty was very tired of being Miss Walker. She said, "Yes, I'm Titty, please call me Titty." 

He beamed and his smile, lit up his rather ugly face. "I'm Robin, thank God for that. I'm sorry that I haven't been here, they keep dragging me to London. I hate it."

Titty said, "I don't like London, either."

"Now, did you find those beastly envelopes?" Robin looked at the desk where Titty had been working and said, "Hey, you have got stuck in, that's splendid. Look, I know it is terribly rude or something, but would you mind if we had a coffee now? And then let me get myself sorted out, and have another coffee and I'll tell you what goes on." 

Titty got him and herself a coffee, black he had said, and very strong. And went back to work. Robin busied himself, occasionally disappearing. Then just after ten he said, "Do you mind getting another coffee?" When Titty came back, he had produced a bag of rather nice looking home made biscuits. "Come and have a biscuit, and let's talk. First, how's the accommodation? Or have they put you up in that awful guest house?"

Titty said, "They did put me up in the guest house, but I move out this afternoon. I've found a place in the town that I think will suit me."

"That's good, let's drink to it," Robin said, and took a mouthful of coffee and bite of the biscuit. 

Titty did too.

He went on, "I'm sorry I'm not very good at doing this. I know I'm supposed to be your boss, but I'm really scared of not doing the right thing. But I saw Mr Dow and he assured me you were all right. It was a great relief."

Titty said, "I like Mr Dow."

Robin said, "He's a decent chap, better than that old misery Mr stupid Cuthbertson." 

Titty was quite convinced he should not be telling her that, but Robin was unabashed and went on, "Don't expect me to be a very good at being a boss. I'm useless at organising anything including myself. I am very lucky I live with some old friends of my father's and they look after me. I'd be a terrible mess without them. Now, Titty, tell me what you've been doing, and how you let yourself in for this crazy game."

Titty quickly found out he might be a poor organiser, but Robin had a sharp incisive mind and grasped what she had been doing very quickly. He seemed to know a bit about her. He said at one point, "I got you all wrong. It was that running business, and when I was told you climbed, and are a successful athlete I thought you would be frighteningly tall and strong. I was utterly useless at sport at school, so someone who could run was a bit of a puzzle. But Mr Dow said I wouldn't find you difficult. Can I see the work you've done?" 

Titty showed him what she'd done. He went through it very quickly, and she knew he was reading it. He made one suggestion. And then, "This is good, really good. I won't have to worry about you, will I? That's a big relief. They told me you understand about navigation which I don't. Some time next week, can you begin to explain to me how it works? I don't understand it at all. Oh and do you think you could look after buying tea and coffee and stuff? I'm hopeless at that sort of thing."

"Of course I will," Titty said. 

"Thank you so much. Oh, I'll supply the biscuits, my friend's cook makes the most wonderful biscuits." he said. "Now, did you have three envelopes? I take it this is the first one? You really have done well, and you're right, doo Mr Dow's first and Mr Cuthbertson's afterwards. He'll complain of course, but he always does about everything. Let's get back to work." 

That was Titty's introduction to her boss. He was, as he said, badly organised and impractical. But he was very clever and had no pretence. Titty helped him to organise things, and came to appreciate his very considerable skills both as a translator and as a code breaker. Better still, they liked each other. Before Robin left that Saturday morning he told Titty he expected to be in all the following week. 

Robin went back to his father's friends and told them, "This woman I was so scared of is very nice. Moreover, I think she's better at the job than I ever thought was likely. She's not the big Amazonian woman I thought she'd be, but pint sized." 

They sighed with relief. The previous weekend Robin had been a pain over his fears at the thought of having to cope with a woman on his staff.

Titty returned to the guest house, collected her suitcase and repacked her rucksack, and was taken round to No 64. Mr and Mrs Ridley were there doing odd jobs about the house. Ian Ridley was a man in his mid thirties, and he seemed shy of Titty, leaving his wife to do the talking. Mrs Ridley seemed to have things well in hand. She said, "I'm glad to see you. You didn't seem to be enjoying the Joiner's guest house. They are all right, but everything is done to a very tight budget and Joan has never really been much of a cook. Brian is a better cook than she is. Now, I'll leave you to sort yourself out, and then come down to the kitchen and I'll show you what I propose."

It did not take Titty long to unpack and she was soon in the kitchen. Mrs Ridley had organized a shelf of her larder for Titty to use, and part of a kitchen cupboard. "You can use my pots and pans if you like, and our crockery and cutlery until you get your own. I keep my vegetables in boxes in the scullery and Ian has made a box for yours. Are you going out tonight, or would you like to join us this evening? 

Titty was very ready to fall in with that second suggestion. Mrs Ridley confessed, "We've never had a lodger before, so it's a bit of an experiment for us." 

Titty was somewhat shy of asking, but she plucked up courage to ask advice about shops in the town. Armed with a list of what she thought would be necessary, she went out with her rucksack and a small folding bag, and found Mrs Ridley's advice to be sound. She returned with rather more than she intended. She had bought a couple of plates, and bowls and some cutlery, in a shop that claimed to be selling antiques but was more of a second hand shop. They would serve her well for many years. She supposed that she would soon get used to this life, but it was all very different from living in college and at home. In fact her long experience of camping and looking after herself in college proved to be more useful than she imagined. 

Over the evening meal Titty learned a good deal about the Ridleys. Afterwards, she took the opportunity to ask something that had been on her mind since she had made the first journey to the big house. "Is there anywhere where I can keep a bicycle?" she asked.

Mr Ridley said immediately, "Yes, I'll show you in the morning. Have you got a bicycle?" It was the first time he had volunteered a remark.

Titty said, "I have one at home, but I thought I might buy one here."

Mr Ridley said, slightly anxiously, "There are two cycle shops in the town, one sells new cycles, but Bernard at the bottom end of the town would find you a second hand one. I could take you there next Saturday afternoon. Have you cycled much?"

"No," said Titty.

"Do you do any sport?" he asked. 

Titty said, "I climb, and walk and I've done a bit of running."

Mr Ridley said, "When you say climb, do you mean with ropes and things?"

Titty smiled and said, "Yes, there was a club at Cambridge."

Mr Ridley said, "There is no climbing club in the town, but there is an athletics club." 

Titty saw a trap. If she got involved in athletics club, she would be identified as the 'little lass'. Then it was a small step to being asked to run for the club, and that would blow her anonymity. So she said, "I think I shall be very busy, they are giving me a lot of work."

Mrs Ridley said quickly, "You can't work all the time."

Mr Ridley said, "Did you go to university?"

Titty sighed inwardly with relief and said, "Yes." She had to tell them a good deal about life at college. Then Mr Ridley disappeared into the yard and Titty helped with the washing up. It was almost done when he returned carrying a small and rather dirty electric kettle.

Mrs Ridley said, "What on earth have you got that for? It doesn't work and it's filthy!"

Ian Ridley grinned and said, "It does work, I mended it. It can be cleaned. I think Miss Walker would like to be able to make her coffee in her room, without coming down here every time she wants a drink."

Mrs Ridley said, "Well, I suppose so, but just you check it very carefully. I don't want her electrocuted." 

The kettle was a boon to Titty, and Mr Ridley was to prove quite right. It did mean she could have a coffee in her room.

Titty slipped out to church on Sunday morning and was back before the Ridleys, making herself a sandwich for lunch before they got home for their Sunday dinner. In the afternoon she went out for a walk round the town, coming back via the main street. She found the new cycle shop, located a good ironmongers, and at the bottom end of the town found a large wooden shed. Over the door was a sign board, "Bernard's Cycles". There were a number of bikes propped up outside, and a number of men in cycling clothes milling round. That evening Titty cooked herself sausage and mash with some beans after the Ridleys had their tea. It seemed to work better than she had expected. 

The first full week went by, and a clear routine was established. Titty would get in to work just before eight and Robin would arrive shortly after nine. Titty would make a coffee and raid the biscuit barrel, which Robin re-supplied regularly. When Titty had said she ought to pay for some, Robin had waved it aside, "My father's friends give them to me. They've got pots of money. They are only too thankful you and I get on and there is someone to organise me."

They then worked through until 1, when they stopped for more coffee and sandwiches. They discuss the work they had done, and ask each other's help for any problems they had had. Two more envelopes arrived for Titty, and one big one for Robin. On the Wednesday at lunch Robin said "How about explaining this navigation business to me? I don't even know South from North - I ought to warn you I'm the opposite of practical!" 

Titty remembered what had been said about people dealing with naval matters who were woefully ignorant. So she started at the beginning, finding very quickly that she would need a compass, a map and preferably a chart. She had brought her walking gear and a couple of maps from Cambridge. Quickly, she recognised that though Robin was right to say he was impractical, he was very quick to understand anything mathematical. He brought a local map from his father's friends and was soon getting to grips with map reading. Later, the mathematical challenges of navigation fascinated him. 

As she had while Titty was at Cambridge, Mrs Walker wrote to her once a fortnight, and on the Wednesday Titty had her first letter from Robert since she had left college. She had posted one to him on Tuesday. Then on Friday evening Mr Ridley checked that she still wanted a bicycle, and they agreed she would accompany him to the cycle shop in the following afternoon. Mr Ridley left for work just after six and seldom got home before seven, except on Saturdays when apparently he was usually home just after twelve. He worked on the railway, Titty gathered he loved his job and was some sort of a maintenance engineer. 

Walking down to the cycle shop Mr Ridley suddenly said, "Excuse me, Miss Walker, are you the young woman the journalists named the 'Little Lass'?"

Titty considered lying, but changed her mind and said, "Yes."

Mr Ridley had looked at her and smiled. It was the first time she had really seen him smile, and he said, "I take it you would prefer that not to be known?"

Titty said, "Yes, that's right."

Mr Ridley said simply, "I won't mention it again." 

He didn't, and Titty was to discover he never even mentioned it to his wife. But that was not quite the end of it. When they reached Bernard's Cycles, they went in and the door jangled. Titty thought she had never seen so many cycles. There must have been thirty cycles in the front of a counter, and through an open door she could see many more. After a while a small, dark man appeared. He saw Mr Ridley, but not Titty, and said, "If I'd known it was you, I would not have come for another twenty minutes, you old skinflint." 

Mr Ridley said, "Now less of your rudeness, here I am bringing a young lady to spend money, and all you can do is hurl abuse at us. Come on, Bernard, I want to find a good machine for this respectable lady who has come to live with us."

The man grinned and said to Titty, "You cannot be that respectable if you come with yon man. Enough of this nonsense! What do you want to use your bicycle for?"

Titty thought for a minute and said, "I need it ride to work every day."

Bernard said, "Ah, the big house? Now I know you from somewhere, yes, you are the 'Little Lass'."

Ian Ridley broke in, "Miss Walker would prefer you forgot that."

Bernard looked at Titty, winked and said, "I've forgotten it already. Now, may I be allowed to make a suggestion?"

"Of course," said Titty.

Bernard said. "This is very cheeky, but if you can't run, and I suspect they've banned that, how about taking up cycling? It's relatively cheap, will take you out into the countryside, and will keep you fit. I can see you thinking about it, so I've got another suggestion. I'll find you a bicycle and you try it. If you like it, you buy the bicycle, if not bring it back and I'll swop it for a different one." 

"That's very generous of you," Titty said.

"Because you've come in with Ian I'd do that for you. I've got a bike that I think will suit you to ride to the big house, and it could be ridden around the lanes, too. If you hang on for a bit I'll see what Adam wants, then I'll find it." 

Titty turned and saw a man was waiting behind them. He said, "I only want brake cables, Bernie. Hi, Ian."

Bernard said, "You know where they are, son. Leave the money on the counter while I find a bike for this lady." 

To Titty's amazement Bernard disappeared out the back, while Adam went behind the counter, found what he wanted, put some money on the counter and left. Bernard reappeared some fifteen minutes later wheeling a bicycle and said, "Will this do?" 

It was far more sporty than the cycle she had at home, and Titty hardly knew. Bernard and Ian obviously knew the style, and she looked at Ian who said, "It's a good bike, and if you find it doesn't suit Bernard will swop it."

Titty thought she would be wheeling it home, but Bernard said, "Leave it with me and I'll smarten it up a bit. It will cost you two pound ten shillings. Come back Tuesday night and I'll have it ready. Come when you've finished work, I'll be somewhere around, just come right in." 

Then he said, "We usually have a cycle run on Sunday afternoons, meeting here about two. Ian will tell you the go on."

Titty said, "Thank you very much," and they left. 

As they were walking away Mr Ridley said, "Miss Walker, your secret is safe with Bernard. Don't be alarmed, I know he looks a bit rough but he is an exceptionally nice chap and knows more about bikes than most."

Titty said, "Please call me Titty." 

But it was a long time before Mr Ridley could be persuaded to call her Titty, and then it was always Miss Titty.

On Tuesday evening she went straight from work to Bernard's shed, and found him working in the back of a meticulously tidy workshop. He had been true to his word and her bike looked much smarter than it had when she had bought it. Bernard went to infinite care to make certain she was comfortable on the bike. He again mentioned the Sunday afternoon rides. Titty told him she wouldn't be coming this Sunday, but should be able to be there the following Sunday, and he looked very pleased. He said, "You're staying with Ian's and June's, right? You'll be quite safe there, they're a splendid couple."

The next Saturday afternoon Titty caught the train home, and then drove the family car back to Cambridge with her mother and two cabin trunks. She filled one with stuff to be taken home, and the other with stuff to be taken to the Ridleys. She and Mrs Walker drove on to the Ridleys' on Sunday morning and unloaded her china and clothes. Her mother approved of the room and had lunch with her before driving back to Shotley. She had given Titty the news that they would soon be moving to Portsmouth. Titty was sorry, she had liked living at Shotley. The fact was that, due to Commander Walker's overseas postings and short term postings in Britain, they had lived there far longer than was normal. 

She was beginning to enjoy living at the Ridley's. Twice she had been roped in to help with school work Sue had brought home, and once, to Mrs Ridley's amusement she found herself holding bits of card together while the glue dried for Steve. The children seemed to accept her being around very easily, and always had something to say. Steve certainly was skilled at turning any bit of cardboard and other waste material into a train or a wagon or a lorry. 

With her books and her papers, and her other belongings at the Ridleys, Titty was far happier and the kettle worked satisfactorily even if it was a bit slow. It meant she could work or read without disturbing the Ridleys. The work at the big house continued to arrive and there was plenty of it. She took to cycling in to work quite early and putting in a couple of hours before Robin came in. For his part he tended to work long after Titty had left. 

Before Robin next went to London he moaned about the hotel where he stayed. Somewhat uncertainly, she told him where she stayed. Robin booked in there and came back full of thanks, saying how much better it was than where he had stayed before. 

Once a week she met up with Ralph, and they began to plot how they could get away to do some climbing, but transport was a problem since neither of them had a car. Then Ralph surprised her, saying there was a rumour going round that Air Services were going to close down because one of the partners had crashed his plane. That was not quite what Titty had heard, but it explained why Nancy was flying all over the place again. Nancy had written to her to say that Mark had had an accident, and as a result she and Pete had divided the work between them. They had employed a young lad from school, she wrote, who was shaping up very well.

Titty did go back to the cycle shop on Sunday, and thoroughly enjoyed her spin through the countryside with several men and two women cyclists. She gathered the more serious male cyclists went out all day, cycling long distances. Nobody mentioned anything about athletics, so Bernard had kept his promise. In fact, she was to learn very much later, someone had identified her, but Bernard had made it privately clear that her racing career was not to be mentioned. The Ridleys showed great interest in how she got on, and it transpired they were keen cyclists and hoped that soon they would be able to go cycling as a family. They hoped the war wouldn't get in the way. 

Robin brought a message back from London that the Admiralty wanted her on the next Wednesday. She was to attend a conference, and then stay on to do some translation on Thursday and Friday. But Robin had no idea what the conference was about. Robert rang that evening and said he had to come to London, so was there any chance of meeting up. They agreed Titty should stay on in London for the Friday and Saturday night, and he would join her. It was their first chance to meet since she had gone to work at the big house. 

The conference concerned German submarines, and Titty was the only woman round the table. During the morning, she thought some of them could not have read much of the material she had translated. There were a lot of people there, including Mr Cuthbertson and Mr Booth. Towards the end of the morning session, thinking of her translated strategy documents, Titty mentioned that submarines might hunt in packs. 

Mr Cuthbertson said, "That is ridiculous! "Of course they'll operate singly, they operate as lone wolves." 

The talk went on to something else. In the afternoon, it was Mr Booth who brought the discussion back to Titty's comment with the statement, "Miss Walker brought to our attention the suggestion that the German Submarines may hunt in packs." 

Mr Cuthbertson said, "I told you that was ridiculous." 

Titty thought the discussion would end with that, but Mr Booth said, "Well, why then has it been mentioned again in the reports that have been translated, some of which have been in our in trays, and some of which I see are even now in front of us. Perhaps Miss Walker would tell us what these reports say about hunting in packs."

Mr Cuthbertson spluttered, "This nonsense....!"

He was cut off by the Chairman. "We should hear what is in the reports, if you can recall, Miss Walker, please."

Titty began, and report by report she translated what was said, occasionally stopping when one or other of the men asked if she could remember where in the report the passage was. Often she could within a page or two. They searched through all the papers to find more clues, although some of the reports seemed well organised and others were not.

Mr Cuthbertson said crossly, "But this is all new information! We have not heard such suggestions previously."

Mr Booth said smoothly, "This policy, and our knowledge of it, has been in circulation for at least five years, as I'm sure Miss Walker is aware. and the Germans used in to hunt in packs in WW1."

Titty blushed, and Mr Cuthbertson went puce, knowing he had been totally outwitted by someone who had been who hadn't been attached to the department five minutes. The meeting ended, and he stomped away. Titty too gathered up her papers and was about to leave when the Chairman stopped her. He just said, "Thank you, my dear, you did well. I shall see you tomorrow." 

Titty blushed again and said, "Thank you," and left.

The Chairman was standing by Mr Booth, and they both watched her disappear. He turned to Mr Booth and said, "That was inspired. What made you think she might know that much detail?"

Mr Booth chuckled, "She wrote those translations, and I guessed she might possess a near photographic memory."

"How on earth did you know that?"

"The translations are initialled TMW, and I read a report written by a John Walker that is in much the same style. He is her brother, a chap very much admired in some quarters and hated in others. As for having a photographic memory, it is in the notes we were issued with when we interviewed her. Besides, I like her, she's a gutsy little piece and pretty. I've always been a sucker for a pretty girl."

The Chairman laughed. "Pretty, maybe, but I'm told her students called 'the Tigress'."

Mr Booth smiled, "I was told that too after the interview. I can imagine it. Why do we have to put up with Cuthbertson?"

The chairman said, "Because he is well connected, both politically and through his family."

Titty did her best in the translation session the next day, but she was alone and it was not easy. Mr Booth was there, and at lunch he stood in front of her, shielding her, and said, "Thank you for yesterday, you were outstanding. I like to see a brother and sister sticking up for each other."

"How did you know?" Titty asked.

"I read John's report and the rest was easy. I can see I shall have to be wary of the Walkers. Now, my dear, you're stuck out at the big house, but are you getting any climbing? And have you met up with your old climbing partner Ralph?"

"The answers are no and yes," said Titty.

Mr Booth said softly, "I'll see what I can do. You see, I climb too." Titty smiled. He went on, "I'm on your side."

The Friday was even more gruelling than the Thursday, and by the time Robert arrived Titty was very tired and looked it. After a drink, Robert sent her off to her room. But they were up early, and had an early breakfast. London looked lovely in the early spring sunshine, and Titty felt much better in the morning. Robert had never been to sightsee in London, and Titty showed him round the places she had been taken by her mother. It gave them time to talk and exchange news and just be together. 

Suddenly out of the blue Robert asked, "Titty, what are you going to do about a holiday this year?"

She said, "I haven't thought. Have you?"

Robert smiled at her and said, "Yes. I have no idea what holiday they'd grant you, but how about a stay at Mrs Jackson's? And take me around the Lake District?"

The idea sounded wonderful to Titty. She said, "I'll find out what I'm allowed."

Robert said, "No heroics this year. I think some of Mrs Jackson's meals and a stay somewhere familiar would do you good."

Titty told him what she and Ralph had tried to plan, and what Mr Booth had said and how he had stuck up for her. Robert said, "If he offers, grab the chance, but let me know and I'll see if I can join you. Don't forget, will you?"

Titty said softy, "I won't forget, not ever."

They enjoyed wandering round London, and Sunday evening came all too soon. Titty went home with a song in her heart. 

Robert did not. The story of that meeting worried him. Titty was an innocent compared with these men, and she was bound to make enemies. The thought of her pitting herself against them with only a few backers frightened him, for if ever the knives came out what would happen?

For Titty, there was a letter from Nancy with her mother's weekly letter. It told her that Air Services was likely to be closed, and Nancy and her plane Tiger Lily might join a company making instruments. If she did, her boss would be Maria's elder brother, Alan, while their younger brother Maurice, would be working for her. Pete, the letter told her, was joining the RAF as a flying instructor, but might be kept on by the instrument company as a consultant. 

Shortly afterwards there was another letter from Mrs Walker with a letter from Nancy, and one from a Peter Dixon. Nancy's letter told her that she had already been offered and accepted the job in the instrument company, but Alan's boss would be asking her for a reference. The letter from Mr Dixon asked details of how long Titty had known Nancy, and what she knew about her. He asked quite specifically what Titty knew about her friend's association with Mr Hindley. Titty spent most of Saturday afternoon composing a reply to Mr Dixons's letter, posting it on Sunday morning. 

When Titty met up with Ralph she told him about Mr Booth's suggestion, and Robert's intention to join them. Mr Booth was as good as his word, and before the end of the week rang up with a suggestion that they should come with him to the Lake District the next weekend. When Titty said she would, he revealed he had already arranged that she and Ralph could leave early that Friday. Titty immediately rang Robert, and by the next day she knew both Robert and Maria would join them. 

On Friday, Titty and Ralph caught the train to London, Mr Booth met them, and they drove straight to a hotel in Elterwater. They had a wonderful weekend, and Mr Booth climbed with his friend, Titty with Robert, and Ralph walked with Maria. Robert and Titty climbed on Scarfell, despite the long walk in. They ate at the Dungeon Gill Hotel. On the Sunday, Robert climbed with Ralph while Maria and Titty walked in the Coniston Fells. Titty learned how already Nancy had impressed Maria's elder brother, and how Maurice thought Nancy was marvellous and what a difference she had made to him.

Just before Titty went to stay at the Jackson's, they had a second weekend with Mr Booth in North Wales, although neither Maria nor Robert could be there. There were other civil servants there too, and Titty realized it was in fact an informal club. The evening conversation was stimulating, and she thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. She and Ralph climbed on Cloggy on both days. 

The week with Robert at the Jackson's was a great success, and Titty realised how tired she was. They spent the week walking, doing no climbing. One day was very hot, and they took Swallow to Wild Cat Island and spent the day talking, lazing in the sun, and swimming in the lake. Titty went back to the Ridley's fitter and happier than she had been for weeks. Mrs Ridley told Ian, "Now we are seeing what Titty is really like. She looks prettier than ever."

But the shadow of war was looming ever closer . The great hope of the Chamberlain effort to preserve peace finally ran out. Robert had joined the Navy, and his first voyage would begin in the Clyde as the medical officer on the destroyer "Chichester", a convoy to Gibraltar. By chance, one of the escorts would be the corvette "Lily", John's first command. 

Robert rang Titty asking if she could get a two or three days leave, as Roz was offering them a cottage she owned on the shores of Loch Long. Titty, explaining, gained the leave remarkably easily, and took the night train north with one fixed idea. Robert met her off the train with a hug that reminded her of his virile strength, they went to his old Riley and drove out of Glasgow. Titty said, "I've a list of food we will need."

Robert grinned. "Roz never does things by halves. I gather we will find that food has been provided, all we have to do is enjoy ourselves." 

Robert had stayed at the cottage before. It stood by itself on the loch side, with clear water lapping on the stony beach at the bottom of the lawn. There was a boathouse with a little sailing dinghy similar to Swallow. In the sunny early autumn afternoon, with Titty in command, they sailed on the loch. The wind rose towards the middle of the afternoon, and on the wide loch open to the sea it made for an exhilarating sail. But they were both wet when they finally tucked the dinghy away in the boathouse. They went back and changed, each going to their respective rooms. Titty cooked omelette with chips and peas, and Robert made a sponge pudding on her instructions and there was a good deal of laughter, though Robert was no amateur cook. 

It was dark by the time they were washing up, and the fire flickered in the old fireplace. There was no electric light, just an old pressure lamp which they did not bother to light. Titty sat on Robert's lap, and after a while she quite deliberately undid the top buttons of her blouse, took his hand and placed it under her breasts. It was warm and comforting. She leant against him, turning her face upwards for a kiss. Under his hand her breast hardened and her nipples stiffened beneath the thin silk, the areole darkened with desire. 

After a while Titty took Robert's hand and led him upstairs. She pulled aside the blankets, slipped out of her skirt and lay on the bed pulling him down on top of her. After a while he sat up and slowly, gently undressed her, and with great care as though he was unwrapping a precious present. She undid his shirt and loosened his trousers. He stood and stripped them off. She flung her arms round his neck and brought his lips to hers. After some minutes, they were oblivious to everything and everybody except each other. 

Robert woke in the night to find her curled against him and slept again. When he woke again, the light was just beginning filter into mellow old room. He looked down. Titty was naked, and she stirred and woke. He said almost in horror, "I never meant that to happen."

Titty looked up at him and smiled, and said serenely, "I did. You told me ages ago I was wanton, now I've proved it. It was lovely. I'm going to do it again tonight." 

They spent the day on the mountains beside the loch, sometimes talking, sometimes in a mutual silence. It was a softly warm day with the autumn colours just beginning to spread across the foliage and shimmering in the sunlight. After dinner, they had coffee, and climbed the stairs and made love more vigorously until they were sated, and then fell asleep in each other's arms. When Robert woke the light was spreading into the room and Titty was again curled up nestling in his arm with a smile on her face. 

They did not get up early but took the dinghy out on the loch again. About eleven the sky began to darken, and they made for the boathouse. The wind had risen rapidly and they were glad to reach the shore. By the time they put the boat away the rain had begun in earnest, sweeping across the loch and battering against the cottage. Robert lit the fire in the bedroom while Titty made sandwiches and heated a tin of soup. They piled the unwashed dishes in the sink and went up stairs to make love with the vigour and energy of the storm that raged outside. It was a new experience for them both. By the time they had exhausted their passion they lay beside each other utterly spent, Titty said contentedly, "I'm a little sore, nicely sore."

"You look," he said, "Disgustingly pleased with yourself. I think I was right you are a greedy wanton creature."

Titty cuddled up to him and said complacently, "I am."

The storm had blown itself out by morning and they took a long ramble along the shore and back through the woods. Titty was blissfully happy, she couldn't recall being so happy. They made a meal of chops, used up most of the last of the vegetables and lit the lamp and read, Titty curled against Robert. They then went up and made love slowly and gently, taking their time with none of yesterday's wild energy. 

In the morning it was time for Robert to put Titty on the train home, a parting that neither of them wanted.Once the train had pulled out he motored across to Edinburgh and went to see his solicitor, an old friend from school days. When he had finished talking, Alistair said, "Are you sure about this?" 

"I am absolutely sure," Robert told him emphatically. 

He went from Alistair's office to the Lodge and Davie and Roz, with a brief and acrimonious visit to his father. They parted on bad terms. In the morning Davie would take him to the Clyde where Robert would board the "Chichester" for Gibraltar. He relaxed in Davie's company, and after a while they walked down the road together while Roz saw to the meal. She intended to make a good one, since she had no great faith in naval cooks. Her only regret was that Robert had not brought Titty with him, she had grown fond of the English girl. She had viewed Robert's cheerfulness almost with elation. Robert and David discussed various matters in connection with the management of the estate, in the course of which Robert said casually, "I've altered my will. My estate, such as it is, will pass to Titty were I to die." 

Davie was amazed. It was evident to him that Robbie's relationship had moved on. 

Then Robert said, "Whatever the barriers, when I come back from this voyage, I shall marry Titty. 

It was only when Davie and Roz were in bed that Roz said, "I'm certain my deep dark plan has been hatched." 

Davie asked, "And what was that, may I ask?"

Roz chuckled richly, "That my treasure enticed him into bed, and our Robert threw away his inhibitions."

Her scandalised husband said, "Roz, you cannot mean that?"

She chuckled again, "Oh yes I can, and I meant to give the pair of them a shove, too, because if ever anyone needed to be pushed into marrying it's those two."

Davie told her what Robert had told him. 

Titty spent a sad journey home. She had yielded herself willingly to Robert's loving and felt fulfilled in a way she never expected. Now the next six to seven weeks seemed an endlessly long time. On Friday morning she packed an overnight bag, and as she had expected her period began perfectly and painfully normal as usual. 

She had wangled Saturday off, and on Friday night she travelled again to Scotland and caught an early bus to a Clyde side spot. There she could watch the convoy depart. It would carry three of her most loved men out of the Clyde, sailing south to Gibraltar. In the big freighter, the 'Aberdeen' Roger would sail as 2nd Engineer. The aged corvette HMS 'Lily' would leave under the command of Captain John Walker, and Robert would sail on the 'Chichester'. Worse, when she reached Gibraltar, the Chichester's Medical Officer would enter Spain with a subversive and dangerous duty. 

Watching the ships creep out the Clyde and out of sight Titty was close to tears. Roger was deep in the bowels of the ship puzzling over a slight irregularity in the beat of the engine. John was on the bridge, where he would spend far too much of the time over the next weeks. He scanned the shore with powerful binoculars, wondering where Titty was standing, because he had little doubt she was there. Deep in the hull of the 'Chichester' Robert was dressing and stitching the hand of a seaman hurt in the act of leaving the quayside. 

Titty arrived back in town in time for the 11 o'clock service, to which she went to pray for their safe return. She felt no regrets for the loss of her virginity.


End file.
